Our 10 year old overheard us discussing the rent, and now he switches off every fan in the house

cedar_camera_79391 Jun 2026

Last week my partner and I were talking about our landlord's renewal terms, which include a larger increase than we expected, and whether we should start looking at other flats. We thought our son was asleep. He wasn't. Since then he has been switching off fans and lights in every room, has asked whether we can still afford his football coaching, and told his grandmother on the phone that we might have to 'move somewhere cheaper'. We are not in any difficulty; it's an ordinary renewal discussion. How much is the right amount to explain to a 10 year old? I don't want him carrying an adult worry, but I also don't want to tell him it was nothing when he clearly heard otherwise.

5 comments

quiet_window_8341 Jun 2026
What has he asked you directly, apart from the coaching? Might be easier to answer his questions one by one than to plan a whole talk.
- orchid_piano_51741 Jun 2026
  That's a sensible way in. In my own experience as a parent, children of that age fill the gaps with something worse than the reality, so a short, honest version settles them better than reassurance does. Something like: we were deciding between two flats, both are fine, your coaching isn't affected. Then let him ask the rest.
plum_badminton_69451 Jun 2026
Ours are too small for money talk, but our 4 year old once caught us discussing a car repair and told the whole preschool our car was 'dying'. I'd tell him plainly what's decided and what isn't, and let him keep one job, like the fans, so he feels useful rather than worried. He sounds like a kind boy ❤️
pebble_tiffin_35981 Jun 2026
when my son was about eleven he heard us arguing about a loan. he's twenty now and brought it up last year out of nowhere. he remembered his switching-off-lights phase too. what he remembered most was that nobody explained, so he guessed
lilac_camera_23651 Jun 2026
There's a balance to strike. Tell him too little and he guesses; tell him the figures and he'll repeat them to his grandmother and the neighbours, as he's already shown. I would give him the decision without the numbers. I shared too much with my own children at that age, and once a seller heard our budget from my daughter before we had made an offer.
saffron_bookmark_50251 Jun 2026
happened with us when we talked about the little one's playschool fees. my 10 yr old asks the price of everything in the supermarket now. it's been months
- cedar_camera_79392 Jun 2026
  We sat him down last night, more or less along the lines suggested here. Short version: two flats, both fine, coaching continues. He asked three questions, all about whether he'd have to change schools. That turned out to be the real worry. The fans are back on. The supermarket stage is what I'm bracing for next.