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Poll

Show Them The Money

Teach your kids good money habits.


Children learn very early that you use money to get something in return.  Although very young children may not understand prices or know how many pennies are in a dollar, they do watch and learn this exchange process.  From toddlerhood through adulthood, you can show and teach children about the value of money and how it's used in their everyday lives. The use of money can also help children develop other skills such as saving, making choices, setting priorities, delaying gratification, sharing, and interacting with others. You can promote good lifelong money habits by modeling and sharing how you use money now and plan to use it in the future.


Money and Math: Using money involves using different math skills such as adding, subtracting, matching, and sorting. A child will learn how money "works" and how to best use it in stages, depending on his age and experience.

Money to teach Saving: Managing money is an important life skill.  Many children learn about saving by having "piggy" or coin banks for any money they receive. Saving money can help children learn how to plan, develop patience, and learn how to delay gratification - getting what they want. So whether you give your child an allowance or money for doing something in particular, this is a good way to work with him or her on saving.  Giving children allowance helps them understand what it means to save up for something special.  If you’re not inclined to give an allowance, allow the child to earn money through chores or activities that can be used at a later time.  Check to see if your bank has special children’s accounts available.  This way you can work with them on depositing and growing an account. 

Money and Social Skills: Using money involves many social skills and interactions with others. From speaking with salespeople to the social rules that go along with making a purchase, practicing social skills is a big part of using money in everyday life.  Talking with your children at an early age about money and saving is important. You can help them form positive lifelong skills around money. This also involves learning and using other important life skills as well.


Money and Community Involvement: Saving and sharing money can be used as part of a lesson in reaching a shared goal. It is also a good way to promote working with others. For example, allow your child to share in helping with a favorite charity, a family activity, or a neighborhood project. For your older child, let him or her help decide what kind of charity or project you want to work on as a family. If money is needed in the project, let your child contribute and decide how that money is to be used.


Remember, no matter what your financial circumstances or personal beliefs are on the use of money, you can help your child become "money-smart" and best use the money system to his or her advantage.

Source: www.childcareaware.org