Teaching Children the Importance of Money

Many children find themselves hopelessly in debt afterfor your child.
leaving home. They go off to college, wanting to take-The internet has a wealth of knowledge for parents
on the world. The independence they suddenlyto utilize. There are online games, puzzles and children's
experience leads to decisions that are not always bestwebsites that teach money skills.
for them. Many of them have not had to deal with- Books are another resource for parents. Check the
financial responsibilities. They are lured into credit cardchildren's section of the library or book store for basic
and loan offers, finding themselves drowning in debt inchildren's money counting workbooks.
a very short time.- A family finance night is a terrific way to spend time
Twyla Prindle says, "Studies are now showing that fortogether. Talk about the bills you have to pay to keep
the very first time since the great depression, we nowthe family financially secure. Discuss the importance of
have a negative saving rate. Many of us are livingpaying bills on time and not overextending yourself.
check to check, and just getting by. All of us want theChildren will learn by your example.
best for our children, and getting by is not the best. IfCharitable giving is one of the most important financial
we teach our children basic principals now, they willlessons you can teach your children. Make them
become common sense to them later."aware that there are many people less fortunate than
Twyla experienced financial ruin after graduating fromthey are and it is our responsibility to help. Giving to the
high school. She was rebellious and went off to collegeneedy is an important part of life.
to live her own life. She had at least 15 credit cards.Children watch what their parents do. If parents are
Unable to keep up all the payments, the bills piled up,charitable givers, then the children will follow in their
and creditor's phone calls were constant. Thinking all offootsteps. Be a role model for your children. Find a
her financial woes would just go away, Twyla choseneedy family in your town and make charity boxes as
to ignore them. After graduating college, she wasa family and deliver them together.
offered a job in her field of study. The employer did aCharity does not have to be only about money. Teach
credit check and rescinded on the job offer. Bad credityour children that volunteering is just as valuable as
had caught up to Twyla at an early age. It took yearsmoney. Children can use their time and talent to give
to pull herself out of the hole she had gotten herselfback to the community. Discuss with your children the
into.volunteer opportunities in your area. Help them decide
She learned from her mistakes and now used her realthe one that would be best for them.
life experienced to teach children the meaning ofDiscuss the importance of setting a financial goal. Help
money. Through her financial literacy tips, she hopesyour children create short and long term financial goals.
others will not fall into the same financial traps she did.Collect different magazines and have your children
Begin teaching children financial literacy at an early age.make goal posters. The posters are a visual aid
Three and four year olds can learn to understand thereminding your children what type of financial goal they
concept of money. The earlier a child learns how towant to accomplish.
deal with money matters, the better. There are manyTalk to them about a basic financial plan, whether they
resources available to help parents begin:want to set up a savings account, save for an item
- Games are one of the best ways to get a childthey want, and assign chores for them to learn the
interested. Play the games together and make it funvalue of money.