5 Ways To Teach Children About Money

Money is an important and vital part of everyones everyday lives, it's why we go to work, how we have a roof over our heads, how we have food in our stomach. It is therefore important that we teach our children about it sooner rather than later, but clearly it is something that needs to be tailored to suit their different ages. I'm not sure at two years old, Ethan would be able to quite grasp the concept of what money is, but it is something I intend to teach him about just as soon as he and we as parents feel he is ready. So how do you teach your children about money? Here are 5 simple ways to help educate children about managing money.

1. Use money to help them learn to count - This is something my Mum did with me and my brother. We had we had so much fun tipping out and then counting out the loose change my Mum had saved in a jar. This helped introduce us to money and of course aided with helping us to learn to count it.

2. Talk about your personal values around money with your children -  How do you save money? How do you earn money? How do you ensure you spend it wisely? These questions make for great conversations to have with your children when teaching them about money. 

3. Take them along - Taking your children along to regular food or shopping trips or even to the bank is something that will really help introduce your children to how money is used and what for. 

4. Don't forget to explain debit/credit cards and bank accounts - Lots of people, if they can afford to do so, open up current accounts for their young children to save money for them to give to them when they're a little older. Talk to your child about how you are saving for them and how and where the money is being saved. Also, don't forget to include credit and debit cards in your conversations. So many of us choose to use them over carrying cash around with us these days, so it's important to explain exactly how they work to avoid any confusion.

5. Think about giving pocket money in return for help - This is a personal choice for every parent, some people see giving pocket money as a win-win situation, where as others may feel that children should actually help out around the house regardless. I personally like the idea of giving children pocket money in return for helping out around the house with additional jobs as I feel that this is a good way to teach children that we all have to work for our money. 

Do you have any of your own tips for teaching children about money to share?

 

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