Discussing money with young children is necessary if you want them to grow into financially responsible adults. An early introduction to your kids about the basics of spending and saving money would definitely help them to value money. Besides, it is also a fact that as your kid grows and enters the real world as an adult, money is found as a great factor in leading one’s life. So, it becomes quite important to talk about money and impart financial lessons to the kids early on.
However, you also cannot ignore the fact that every child grows and matures at different ages. Thus depending on the maturity level and the age of your child, you should try to explain him/her, the basics of managing money.
You can start by taking small steps to teach kids as young as 3-5 years old the basic money lessons to make them realize it’s worth. For instance, making toddlers realize that they simply cannot have something they liked at the toy counter in the supermarket. Rather they must consider if they really need the toy and if it is worth the money before purchasing it. Also, you must teach them to save money to buy the toy they like. This way, they will learn to value money.
Money lessons also include teaching the young ones how to make the right choice about spending money wisely. You can start with kids as young as 5-12 years old to explain to them how they can make the best choice on spending and that they should spend on the important things first. This way, you can help them to make the right choice on spending with limited money in hand.
Here we are discussing a few tips that might help you as parents to talk about money with your young children:
- Be your own judge – The first important thing for parents to understand is to be the best judge while considering the age and maturity level of their child while imparting the right money lesson. Don’t pressurize the child with unnecessary burden.
- Be patient– It is equally important to be patient even if your child doesn’t understand or make mistakes. Let them learn from their own mistakes. It is always better to make mistakes at young age with limited money in hand rather making mistakes later in life putting at stake large sums of money.
- Have a positive approach – Teach kids to have a positive approach while dealing with money matters. Even if there is a crisis or so, they should not be perturbed and act smartly and cautiously to deal with the matter.
- Discuss financial problems openly – It is better to discuss financial problems with young children openly. However, parents are the best judge about discussing the particular issue keeping in mind the age and maturity of the child.
Money is a sensitive matter and needs to be dealt wisely while imparting its lessons to kids. However, teaching them its significance at a young age would help them to manage and face finances easily during their teen age and adulthood while they set out to explore the real world.
It’s never too late. To start with you may find some good sources on the internet about kids’ money management. Zoylu is one of the unique financial literacy tools for this purpose. Not only that, it also enhances your kid’s social learning and life skills. Explore Zoylu App today.