Sit your teenage children down and have The Talk, experts say. No, not the one about the birds and the bees, rather the talk you've really been dreading -- about money.

It's crucial that parents take the time to help educate their teenagers about basic financial habits, even if it's just to share their own triumphs and mistakes, experts add.

"Money is something they'll deal with all their lives," said Los Angeles writer Don Silver, author of "High School Money Book" and 10 other books. "Teens can be happier and more self-sufficient in life if they master money matters now rather than correct money mistakes later."

The average high-school senior was able to answer only 48.3 percent of the questions correctly in the Jump$tart Coalition's recent biennial survey of high-school students' financial knowledge. That was a decrease from 52.4 percent correct the previous time the survey was done, in 2006.

Laura Levine, executive director of the Jump$tart Coalition, said families shouldn't wait for children to reach high school to talk about money, but should talk about financial topics throughout a child's life.

With these dismal test results fresh in the news, now is the perfect time to talk to your teenagers about money matters, Silver said.

"Parents and other loved ones don't have to be economic experts to teach," said Silver, who worked for more than 20 years as an estate-planning lawyer. "They can help by talking about their own financial, job and career successes and failures and how those experiences have affected them.

"They can explain what they did right with money and what they would have done differently."

Lower Valley resident Irma Aguilar said she started to talk to her children about money as soon as they reached age 5.

"It's like reading; do it as young as you can," Aguilar said. "Talk to them about money, how to save it and how to make good use of it."

Aguilar has one daughter who is a law student at Howard University in Washington, another daughter who is a senior at Bel Air High School and will attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston in the fall, and a 7-year-old son.

Talking to your kids about money saves them from "having to call mom and dad and say, 'I didn't do it right; I need your help,' " Aguilar said. "Needless to say, I'm very proud of my children."

Silver said money is often seen as a taboo subject, even among adults.

"Many parents are more afraid to talk to their teens about money than any other subject," he said.

Maureen Hankins, director of the El Paso YWCA's Consumer Credit Counseling Service, advises parents to talk to their children about money at least a year before they turn 18.

"About the time they hit their senior year of high school or their 18th birthday, they're inundated with credit-card offers, even if they have no job or are enrolled in school full time," Hankins said.

"Imagine being a senior or just turning 18 and you've never had a job or just a part-time job, and you get an offer for $1,000 or $1,500 of credit, and you can pay $15 or $20 a month. That's hard to pass up."

However, most teenagers don't understand that by using a credit card, you're "obligating future income" to pay off your debts, she said.

"And if you don't have a job, it will be hard to make even the minimum payment," she said.

"Most teenagers don't understand the consequences of not paying your bills on time," Hankins continued. "You can mess up your credit score and hurt your chances of getting credit when you really need it, like when you want a car loan."

Mismanaging a credit card can also hurt your ability to get a student loan for college, Hankins said.

Hankins' organization offers a 12-lesson course titled "Credit When Credit Is Due" that's geared to adults and teenagers. The cost is $25, but some scholarships are available.

Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com, said it's "very important to instill the basics, such as budgeting and compound interest, at any early age.

"Financial habits and concepts that can be mastered at an early age can pay dividends throughout life," McBride said. "The problem is too many adults don't have their own finances in order and set a bad example for their kids."

Show them how to balance a checkbook and teach them about credit cards and emphasize the pitfalls, such as high interest rates and the temptation to only make minimum payments, McBride said.

If you're uncomfortable talking to your children about money, use "High School Money Book" as a starting point, Silver said. Teens can also read the book on their own to learn about money, he said.

"Have your teen find out how other people feel about their material possessions, debts, jobs, relationships and happiness levels," Silver said. "And let your teen know that as they talk to others, chances are they will see how a person's personality may be similar to a person's pattern of financial action or inaction."

High-school students can also use helpful Web sites such as finance.yahoo.com and moneycentral.msn.com, Silver said.

"The Wall Street Journal offers a financial and world education that is definitely worth the $99-per-year student subscription," Silver said.

"This is not a topic to be put off," Silver continued. "People can look back on their own experiences and see they'd be better off if someone had talked to them about money when they were young. Most of us would probably say yes."