Maricor Bunal
The world is changing constantly, so you can’t predict what to expect in your kids’ future. What you can do for them is to teach them how to be good with the money. It’s one of the skills that are evergreen!
Okay, no one is saying that money’s everything in life, but the fact is that the majority of problems people face on regular basis are caused by it. The sooner your child learns how to handle them, the better.
For that reason, it’s important to start teaching them the concept of money as soon as they start counting.
Of course, that doesn’t have to be a lesson for life, but can be represented as a game instead. For example, they can play games wherein they guess which pile of coins has more value.
That way, you will help them figure out the principle of more versus less. Believe it or not, children can understand this concept even at a very young age.
Toddlers need to learn these things through games, but as they grow older, you need to help them understand the meaning of responsibility. Your child might get very good in counting money, but they won’t mean much unless you teach them to respect it!
Involve Your Child in Major Purchases
Surely, this might seem illogical to you. Involving a kid in making big decisions? That’s exactly what you should do!
Of course, you will still be in charge, but this way, your child will get the sense of how important money is. Whether it’s buying a new TV, car, or whatever, it is wise to have your kid involved.
Not only will this make them feel better about themselves, but will also show them the significance of money, first hand. This way, your child will realize that before spending money, you need to do proper research.
Let Your Child Spend Some Money
One of the best ways to show your child that the main characteristics of money is that it comes and goes is to let them spend some of it. This way, they will get the right picture about how being careless can lead to losing all you got, while saving money is the key to success.
Of course, the advice is not to let your kid take charge of the entire family’s finances. Instead, it’s rather about giving them a gift certificate in a toy shop. They key is not to come to their aid when they run out of money, but let them learn a valuable lesson!
Give Your Child Weekly Allowance
An alternative to giving your kid a gift certificate is to give him or her allowance money on a weekly basis. By giving them a small amount of money, you let them have a complete control of their decisions. This will teach them that control is a privilege, but also a responsibility.
For example, if they want to buy sweets and spend all of the allowance in a day, let them have it. But doing that will result in not having enough money for a new toy. Instead of coming to their rescue by paying for the toy, you will help them learn the importance of saving money.
All these exercises will help your kids to determine the value of money at an early age. Next step after teaching the lessons of saving money, show them how to earn the money themselves so they understand better the essence of wisely spending the money on things that matter.
