Teaching Kids about Money
My youngest just turned 7 and OH! how their eyes lit up when they received birthday cards with money! Only 7, but how well they understand the power of the dollar!
Or do they?! To them money means picking out a special toy (as well it should on your 7th birthday) but there is so much more I want them to learn about money. What I hope to teach my kids about money falls in three categories – give, save, spend.
Give. Kids can have a lot of compassion and be ready givers. I want to nurture that and provide opportunities for them to give. It helps them to think beyond themselves and gives them great satisfaction to think they make a difference. I was so blessed when a couple of my kids wanted to give all their money to help the Colorado flood victims. Of course, not all problems are solved by money and sometimes money is not what someone really needs. We have this discussion from time to time when we see someone on the corner asking for money. We give them food instead or connect them with our church outreach center where their true needs (housing, clothing, job, etc.) can be determined and met. Nonetheless, I want my kids to see that money is an important part of giving.
Save. While I want my kids to learn to save money, even more I want them to learn the lessons saving money can teach – patience, delayed gratification, perseverance, and self-discipline. I think having a goal in mind and working and saving toward it builds character. Plus, if they can develop a saving mindset, I’m guessing they will be more likely to live within their means as adults. A saving mindset goes beyond dropping pennies in the piggy bank. We try to teach our kids that certain actions like turning out the lights and not being wasteful saves money too.
Spend. We didn’t have to teach any of our five children how to spend – that came quite naturally to them! I want my kids to be thoughtful spenders. I see my older kids already assessing the true value of a purchase – “This Lego set has X pieces and costs X but this other one is a better deal because it has X more pieces but only costs X” – and I want to encourage that. I think when kids have to earn their money, they are more careful spenders. And while on the topic of spending, I want my kids to not be materialistic, as hard as that is. I’ve heard of one family whose kids each had 10 toys and when they got a new one, they had to give one away. Boy, oh BOY that’s sure not us! But I admire the thinking and want to emulate that ideal to some extent. When they want to buy something, I want my kids to think about what they are about to buy in terms of what they already have. Check this out: my sons were invited to a classmate’s party recently and the invitation said clearly “Please, no gifts.” My first thought was, Way to go Mom! I was impressed with the courage it takes to stand against the materialistic madhouse that some birthday parties can be and say in effect “You don’t have to spend to celebrate.” I want my kids to see that moments can be special without spending a lot of money – that the time you spend with the people you love is more important than the goods that change hands.
Parenting is all about giving our kids the tools they need to succeed as adults. Helping our kids have a healthy handle on money can save them headaches and heartaches in the future. In our family, we’ve got a ways to go, but that is the goal we’re striving for – Kids learning how to give, save, and spend so they can be adults who give, save, and spend responsibly. That’s our financial goal for our kids.
Copyright © 2013 J. Hoffman / GSN
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Email: JHoffman@GlobalStudentNetwork.com