Most children already know how valuable money is in their early stages of development. Even so, it’s still important to keep tabs on how they spend their money.
Teaching kids the value of money at their age will teach them how to establish themselves and bring out their sense of responsibility. Children learning about financial literacy will enable them to become more financially responsible as they get older. Even though they are young and incapable to a certain extent, it’s crucial as parents to instill in them the importance of saving up for the future and attaining delayed gratification.
It may be essential to make kids learn about moral values by reading books such as Solomon the Snail, but it’s equally a must to teach children the ropes around spending money and saving them.
Start by the Bare Minimum
The concept of handling money is still vague for children, but depending on how they were taught to use it at a very young age will reflect on their financial habits when they are older. Those habits will help improve them as individuals or cause irreversible consequences. They will most likely handle impulses well if they can use money efficiently.
An excellent way to put it is by giving them at least three to four coins at a time. It will help them choose certain rewards or consequences, which will benefit their personal development. Allow them to weigh in their choices so that they will learn to come to a conclusion and see for themselves where those choices will take them.
Engage in Money-Saving Talks and Activities
Children tend to be visual learners, and parents can try a similar method to teach kids how to distinguish between luxury and necessity. It shows them visually the things that are more important than the others in certain situations so they will learn to realize what they should spend on.
Parents can also initiate money-saving activities as a family bonding to get the kids onboard in being frugal about expenses. At the same time, they should be verbally taught that nothing in life comes free, even if they haven’t had any grasp of that fact early on.
Let Them Shop
Actual purchasing might be one of the best options to teach children the value of money. For children, having money while buying something for themselves might make them feel accomplished. Confidence is built the moment they start realizing their potential purchasing power.
If ever they ask about their parents using a card to pay for purchases, it’s essential to teach them how that kind of monetary system works. Regarding groceries, children tend to point out anything they find delectable. Avoid giving them what they want by gently teaching them the importance of controlling the urges to spend on anything they like until the day comes that kids are fully capable of buying what they want or need and still have some remaining money to save aside.
Teach the children how to navigate wholesale deals, “buy one take one” promos, and be intuitive about item prices that are too good to be true. Another possibility that should be ingrained in the child’s mind about cheap sales is that the sellers might just be getting rid of stock quickly or marking down the initial price to the product’s original price.
Bank Transactions for Kids
It is highly encouraged to take the children to the bank once in a while to let them learn how to open their own savings accounts under the parents’ careful guidance. Teach them how to talk to the teller or banker while coaching them on what to do. Today’s banking with mobile phones makes transactions more manageable, and children can also learn how to do online banking.
Children handling their bank accounts in a way is a good start for them to learn how to be responsible with their money. However, they should be aware that they cannot simply get money whenever they want, as it is still at their parents’ disposal. Some parents do this thing where they teach children how to open a bank account in person and online; parents fund the initial deposit and take care of the rest until the children are old enough to handle all the money that the children saved on their own.
Money may be a touchy subject to tackle and even unimaginable to teach young children. But the long-term benefits of instilling discipline into them early will reap more rewards as they grow up and gain more knowledge about spending and other financial habits. The way they handled money as kids will indeed reflect on how they use money as adults.
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