Teaching kids about money is not rocket science. As a parent, if you inculcate them about it at a young age, they tend to be responsible money managers in their later years. But the question is how to teach them the value of money in such a way that they realize its importance soon. This seems a little intricate in the beginning, but once you learn this art, you will be able to deal with it more effectively. To help your child understand this and make him or her more responsible towards money management, here are five valuable tips to keep in mind.
How To Teach Kids About Money?
Raising the kids by teaching them the importance of money revolves around different aspects like budgeting, earning, planning, and saving. Apart from making them learn about the value of money, it is also crucial to teach them about their fiscal responsibility. This, in turn, prepares them for their lives. Understand that money management is one of the most essential life skills and is never too early to tell them about it. The earlier you start, the better it is!
1. Give A Few Household Chores And Pay For Them
As a parent, one of the key responsibilities is to ingrain good morals, values, and beliefs in your kids. Parents should teach kids a few life skills, which they can use it during adulthood. The simplest way to accomplish this is by assigning them a few chores and have them earn from it. This idea is something not all parents will agree with. Well, the debate of whether kids should be paid for household tasks or not is an unending battle, which has no appropriate answer. This is completely up to you. As far as the research is concerned, whenever there is a reward involved, kids tend to do a chore more interestingly. If you do not like paying, you could reward them with points or treats.
Though people used handwritten chore charts earlier, these had a lot of drawbacks. However, to manage your kids’ chores or teach them about good habits or inculcate responsibility, parenting apps comes to rescue. Though there are plenty of family chore apps, we recommend you to download S’moresUp app. It is a complete package to assist parents in their parenthood.
2. Lead Them By Setting Yourself As An Example
According to research done by the Cambridge University, money habits in kids form when they are seven years old. It is known that kids follow what their parents do. Those little eyes are seeing you all the time. Even if you slap down those plastics each time you step out for grocery or dinner, they will eventually observe. They will even notice about the money arguments that you and your partner have in the house. So, set a good example. They grow up seeing you and understanding you. They pick those up and follow them when they become older.
3. Encourage Them To Save
The best way to teach them the importance of “saving” is by taking them to a shop and buying them cute piggy banks or wallets. Usually, experts advise giving your kids three receptacles to keep their money in. One: for saving, two: for donating, and three: for spending. Decide with them on dividing up their weekly allowances in all these jars.
Set up a proper process to save money in their piggy banks. Then, monitor regularly as to how much money has been saved so far. Discuss with your kids about their goals of utilizing that money. Besides this, teach your kids the joy of sharing. Motivate them to come up with different ways to spend by helping others.
4. Make Them Realize That Every Thing Costs Money
Kids sometimes don’t understand everything. So, you have to be patient and explain them smartly. Besides telling them things, you also got to act it out. Remember, “action speaks louder than words.” Say, for instance, you could start by saying, “That toy car costs 10 dollars, dear.” They will realize the importance of money only when they spend from their pockets. So, a good trick for this would be to help them get some dollars from their piggy banks, take them to a toy store, and make them hand over the cash at the bill counter. Believe it or not, this direct action will leave a higher impact than your ten-minute lecture.
5. Teach Them How To Negotiate
You will find a plethora of books to help teach your kids the art of negotiation. However, the fact is that each child is unique and so are his or her responses to conflicts. It depends on their age, understanding with peers, teaching environment, and biology. Moreover, families have distinctive cultural values about conflicts. While some families never allow children in conflicts, others only encourage boys to conflict.
The whole zone of assisting kids to unveil the negotiation strategies are vast. They vary by children’s requirements, families’ culture, and family stressors. One of the best places to teach your kids about bargaining or negotiation on cost is none other than “garage sales.” Since garage items are typically priced for a low price to start with, your kids will not have to give out a significant amount of money irrespective of how their bargaining experience’s outcome. Furthermore, people frequently negotiate on their garage items because they truly want to get rid of their clutters. Garage sales are just summer attractions. However, if the climate is not right, try visiting a craft show. Apart from this, the farmers’ market is yet another fantastic option to help kids learn about bargaining.
On the other hand, this is an era where kids use gadgets and the Internet extensively at home. Hence, shopping sites like eBay and Amazon might be a great platform to kickstart with. Your kids can connect with different sellers through email or any other medium and get the details revolving around a product sale. Negotiating the cost at online and retail stores isn’t impossible, but the probability that your kids will receive a lesser price is too low. But that’s not the point. The trick is to teach them about negotiation.
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