Money will always play an essential role in a person’s life, and having the knowledge and skill to manage it from an early age can benefit anyone. For parents, bringing up the importance of money and its proper management could help your child as they grow. If you do have no clue how to begin or what money lessons they should know at a young age, here are some tips you might find helpful:
Lesson 1: Introducing Money and Banks
The easiest way to make them familiar with money is to introduce them to it. Let them touch money and experience it. Show them that the papers and coins have value and how they interact with the world.
When they become older, you can bring them with you on your trips to the bank. Let them understand what the place is for and how saving money in the bank could help you in the future. Once they are old enough to open an account for them, encourage them to start saving money too.
The lessons they learn about finances could progress as they age. When they start to attend schools, they would be introduced to many other concepts, such as credit, money management, and the like. Being familiar with these concepts, or at least of money, from the start could make them comfortable about the idea and ease their transition to money management.
Lesson 2: Saving, Sharing, and Spending
Teaching kids about the primary uses of money will always be a fruitful discussion. With such lessons, your kids would learn more about the value of money and apply it to their daily lives. Allow them to experience things so they can remember the lesson better.
For example, you can give them extra allowance if they do other chores apart from their regular tasks. When they have enough money, they can choose which among the three they want to do. They can decide to save it for future use or buy something they have been longing to purchase. Or they can choose to reward themselves for a good job. They can also share a portion of their savings with their chosen charity.
Exercising all these possibilities can help them understand the value of money better.
Lesson 3: Comparing Prices
By the time your child joins you in your grocery shopping, they would come to realize that not everything is free and that whatever they need or want requires hard work. Take advantage of this opportunity and teach them more about the value of money. Let them take part in the decision-making process during grocery shopping. Which between the two brands should they choose? Is the cheaper product always better?
This experience would teach them more about how people should spend their money wisely.
Lesson 4: Earning Extra
If your middle-aged kid wants to buy something so bad, you can teach them how earning extra money can help them get what they want faster. Since they are too young to get an actual job, you can brainstorm together and look for an easy and safe means to earn extra cash. Some ideas include babysitting, pet sitting, selling refreshments, doing yard work for other people, exchanging recyclables for recycling plants, and helping out with the family.
Conclusion
Teaching money to kids at an early age would make them more confident about money, which is what it should be. Money should not be a sensitive topic or a scary subject. Start with your family and start with these four lessons. By letting your kids understand money and its worth, you can help them build a future with a smaller chance of financial problems.
If you are looking for a fun and informative way to educate your kids about money, consider downloading Kiddie Kredit. It is a mobile app designed to educate kids on the credit system by completing chores and building credit for your child.