孩子对钱没概念，该发愁吗？

What’s the price of a pint of milk? Knowing the price of household staples has often stumped out-of-touch politicians — but if you asked one of your children, would they know any better?

一品脱牛奶的价格是多少？说出家用必需品的价格往往会难倒不接地气的政治人士，但如果你问问你的孩子，他们会知道得更多吗？

The answer, according to the Halifax, is no. To promote its children’s savings account, the bank surveyed more than 1,700 young people aged 8-15 to gauge how financially savvy they were. Looking at the results, my first thought was that the children answering these questions must have been winding the Halifax up.

哈里法克斯银行(Halifax)称，答案是否定的。为了促销儿童储蓄账户，该行对逾1700名年龄在8岁至15岁的青少年进行了调查，目的是考察他们的理财意识。看到调查结果后，我的第一个念头是，回答这些问题的孩子们肯定是在捉弄该银行。

The respondents — broadly weighted across each age group — thought a pint of milk would cost a staggering 17 pounds. Their average estimate for the price of a loaf of bread came in at 15 pounds. Even if all the children lived in Borough Market (the Halifax assured me that they did not) and dined on artisan sourdough, this would be pushing it.

受访者（大致根据各个年龄组分配权重）以为，一品脱牛奶的价格将达到吓人的17英镑。他们对一条面包的价格的平均估计为15英镑。即便所有儿童都住在伦敦博罗市场(Borough market)（哈里法克斯银行向我保证不是这样）并且天天吃高级的手工制作工匠面包，这也有点牵强。

When he was prime minister, David Cameron answered the question in a different way, claiming in 2013 that he didn’t know how much bread cost because he made his own in a bread maker. If only the interviewer had snapped back: “And how much do you pay for your fast-action yeast, Mr Cameron?”

在戴维·卡梅伦(David Cameron)担任英国首相时，他是用另一种方式回答这个问题的。他在2013年声称，他不知道面包的价格，是因为他在家里用一台面包机制作面包。如果采访者再追问一句就好了：“那么您知道快速酵母的价格吗，卡梅伦先生？”

If you are reading this thinking “Blimey, what is the cost of a pint of milk?” the Office for National Statistics currently puts this at 44 penny, and a loaf of bread at 1.06 pounds. So now you know. But how important is it that your children know this too?

如果你读到这里寻思着“天啊，一品脱牛奶的价格是多少啊？”英国国家统计局(Office for National Statistics)现在给出的价格是44便士，一条面包的价格为1.06英镑。那么现在你就知道了。但是让你的子女也知道这个有多重要呢？

I blame modern life for their wildly inaccurate estimates. When I was young, we were given money to go to the shops and buy groceries — and would be expected to come back with the correct change and a receipt. Nowadays, children largely remain indoors, glued to their phones.

我把这种错得离谱的估计归咎于现代生活。在我小时候，父母会给我们钱去商店买食品，并指望我们拿回收据和不多不少的零钱。如今，孩子们基本上呆在家里，成天低头盯着手机。

Our increasingly cashless society means children have little exposure to bills, counting money or checking change. Instead, grown-ups tap, click or swipe to pay. If we want a receipt, it’s an email we will probably never open.

我们越来越接近无现金社会，这意味着，孩子们几乎没有机会看到账单、数钱或核对找零。成年人会在收银机上搭一下手机或信用卡，按一个按钮或者扫描，就完成了支付。如果我们想要收据，它或许是一封电子邮件，我们可能永远不会打开。