Do you know how much that costs?

I feel like we all probably ask this question so much, especially of late as we face the cost of living crisis in the UK. We say it to ourselves, our family, the cashier and the kids… basically everyone… as we stand in shock at the counter of a shop or when we receive bills.

Children are far more astute nowadays. It always amazes me how much they know from a young age and how inquisitive they can be. However, I have wondered for a while (usually when I am again being asked to buy something for my children), if they understand the value of money and if they have an appreciation of how much something costs. Usually I notice that they can comprehend something is more expensive than the other, however they have no concept of what it means to spend a larger some of money versus a smaller sum. I also do not feel that they understand what it means in terms of earnings and savings to buy very expensive items.  I have no real sense of when children start understand the value of money. A University of Cambridge study suggests that from the age of 7 this knowledge starts to come to fruition. I wonder if you would agree with that?

I wanted to run my own test of understanding if children know the cost of goods and services. I asked friends, family and colleagues to ask their children what they thought the cost of several day to day items may be. This was a very unscientific exercise. I did not specify the exact brand or product specifics so evidently within the list there could be a wider margin of error. I also did not target a specific number of children overall or within age brackets. All the children were living in London however.

It was really intriguing that the majority parents came back to me saying, “…I’m really interested what my child answers,” and “…I bet they have no idea!” As the answers flooded in, in quick succession (with parents wanting to uncover the reality with their own children with urgency), I scanned over the answers finding humour in some answers.

I have collated the results below to share with you. The below data is based on all of the responses which totalled to be 30 children across the age of 5 and 16. The respondents were a good mix of girls and boys.

What does … cost?

1. 6 pints of milk

Range: £0.75 – £35.00

Average: £7.21 (3.4x cost) – overestimated

Observations: Due to the astronomically high guesses for 6 pints of milk, it did make me wonder if the children understood what 6 pints were. If they did, and they still were estimating milk to cost over £10, it then made me wonder why they thought they needed to drink so much!

2. A loaf of bread

Range: £0.50 – £5.00

Average: £2.38 (2.4x cost) – overestimated

Observations: I am assuming children have great taste in bread and were guessing the price based on lovely Sourdough bread from Gail’s, but even that would only reach the £5 mark.

3. 6 eggs

Range: £0.10 – £18.00

Average: £2.83 (2.8x cost) – overestimated

Observations: Again, another day to day item that has been estimated to cost much higher. I now think actually the day to day items, that are on the shopping list every week are likely the ones we are not talking about so much in terms of the price. As such children are not getting an understanding of the true cost of them 

4. 1 chocolate bar

Range: £0.50 – £7.00

Average: £2.64 (2.6x cost) – overestimated

Observations: I really wish chocolate still cost below £1. I still am surprised when I get to the vending machine. For those at the high end of the price guesses, are they understanding that it would be unrealistic for chocolate to cost £7, given the London Living wage is £13.15 per hour. Or alternatively they again have great taste in chocolate! 

5. 1 banana

Range: £0.15 – £6.00

Average: £1.02 (6x cost) – overestimated

Observations: It is interesting to see that the children understand that a banana will be cheaper than a chocolate bar, however the average price was still 6x more than the actual cost of the fruit. Could we use this to entice our children to eat more bananas over chocolate? 80% of the respondents did estimate a banana to be £1 or less. 

6. A tank of petrol

Range: £5.00 – £180.00

Average: £66.18 (0.6x cost) – underestimated

Observations: Children must have been listening to all of our conversations about the cost of fuel over the past few years, or remember the rush at petrol stations as we sat in queues in 2022 when the Russia/Ukraine war commenced. It was impressive that children had a good idea that fuel was expensive. It is a definitely something that we are talking about out aloud and as a result something they are observing. 

7. A bus fare

Range: £0.00 – £25.00

Average: £5.51 (3.2x cost) – overestimated

Observations: I loved the answers here. The minimum price in the range was £0.00 or free as several children recognised and remembered that children do not have to pay to go on London buses. The upper end of the scale surprised me, but this may have been a misunderstanding (I am hoping!) 

8. A newspaper

Range: £0.00-£10.00

Average: £1.06 (Similar to cost)

Observations: On the basis children are not the largest consumers of newspapers, I felt that their answers here were the most sensible, with the average cost coming in line with the actual cost. Several mentioned that a newspaper is free and I can only assume they are picking up a Metro or Evening Standard whilst on the train, tube or bus. 

9. A pair of school shoes

Range: £3.00 – £150.00

Average: £35.45 (Similar to cost)

Observations: Within the data, there were a lot of answers that were at the lower end of the range, which made me giggle as I know its always a point of contention when we go school shoe shopping each September. Is there a link between children believing that they shoes are not so expensive, and them not looking after them? Overall however the average of the responses came inline with the average cost, so not bad!