As parents, most people focus on the basic lessons of life, and may not be covering important financial lessons that could last a lifetime. Successful adults are usually those that were trained early on in proper management of their money, and developed an early respect for a dollar. If you have not yet implemented a plan to start teaching your child about money, now is a great time to start. Here are some tips to help you along the road.
Children Aged 3 to 5 –
This is a great time to start working with kids and teaching them about earning money. While they can’t exactly go get a paper route, that doesn’t mean that they can’t take on tiny tasks and get rewarded. For example, you can have boys (or girls) find certain types of bugs in the yard. For each bug they correctly identify and capture, you can give them a quarter. As a bonus, this is also a great lesson in entomology. If bugs aren’t your child’s thing, you can easily adapt this into another form. The key is teaching them that hard work and persistence does pay off.
Children Aged 5 to 9 –
This is the time when kids are more able to start handling basic chores around the house. You may also be able to start working on goal setting, especially as they get closer to nine. Try taking them to a store and ask them what they would like to get. Then, you can use this as a lesson by teaching them how much work they will need to put in, in order to get that item. For example, if they want a toy that costs $10, and they get a weekly allowance of $2, you can teach them that they will have to work five weeks, and save that money in order to get what they want. This has the added benefit of teaching them about saving, and learning more about hard work.
Children Aged 9 to 13 –
These are very important years and you can start to expand on the lessons you’ve already taught them. If they are mature, they may be ready for their first child checking account. This is also the time when they will be able to do bigger jobs around the house, or even get a paper route. Use each opportunity that comes up to reinforce the lessons that they have already learned.
Children Aged 13 to 18 –
By now they should have a firm foundation in how money works, how to get what they want, and the importance of respecting how far a dollar can stretch. Once they reach 16 they’ll be able to get their first job, and all the lessons you’ve taught them will carry over.
It’s never too late to start teaching your children about money, saving and earning. In fact, as you teach them, you may even learn a few things on your own and come to a better appreciation of your finances.
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Originally posted 2008-10-15 05:56:14. Republished by Old Post Promoter
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1 comment so far ↓
Wow this is such a great article, i wish i was taught about money that early on.
But also, I don’t think parents themselves understand how money works, so they can’t really teach their kids to do so.
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