By teaching your child about money at an early age you are doing them a huge favor. You have a better chance of your child being a well-rounded and responsible appreciation of the value and uses of money if you begin teaching them about money at an early age. Some parents might not understand where or how to begin teaching their child about money so they don't start this process until they are older.
Start by teaching your children to identify the different coins. This should be done at the beginning when the child is at a very young age. When you are out shopping with your child you can point out what money is used for and pointing out to them what is happening.
When your child gets to the elementary school age you might want to think about giving them an allowance on a weekly basis. This should be offered to each child. At this point it is not important how much the allowance is. Start teaching what appropriate uses of this money might be and what can happen if they spend their money in an irresponsible way. Now is a good time to express the importance of contributing part of their allowance to a charity or a local church. Teach your child why it is important to give to these organizations on a regular basis. There will come a time when your child will want to buy a specific item and you need to show them how many weeks they will need to save their allowance to be able to make that purchase.
Take your child to the grocery store with you to begin teaching your child the value of careful money management. Have your child look at different brands of the same product so they can figure out what would be the best value.
If you encourage your child to help with chores around the house this will help them learn a lot about money. Push your child to find ways to earn money.
Continue to give allowance to your children who are now teenagers but it should now be connected with household chores and other jobs they are obligated to complete.
In the late teenage years keep teaching your child about money by allowing your children to do the weekly grocery shopping, let them help put together a budget for a family vacations and teaching them how to fill out tax forms, if they are employed. Show your older teenage children how to obtain a small installment loan. This will help them learn the importance of a budget for regular financial responsibilities as well as help build their line of credit.
Your child will be much more prepared to be responsible with their money if you take the time now to teach your child how to manage their money. |
