How to Teach Kids About Finance Karan Jain September 14, 2022 Money 396 Teaching kids about finance is one of the key aspects to parenting. With many families around the globe choosing different approaches to inciting good financial behavior, there are some proven techniques and important information you should be aware of before starting. As difficult as this process can be, the alternative is leaving your kids in the dark, scared to delve into money matters, perpetuating fear, anxiety, and stress. Why would we do that when we know these things can be relatively easy to avoid? To teach kids finance, you will want to treat the conversation in a kid-friendly way. Making this a sensitive and touchy subject in the household could result in kids not wanting to engage with money, which might lead to a long-term bad relationship with finances. The importance of teaching kids money management As a parent, you are keen to provide your children with all of the things they need. You want to give them love, support, affection, good schooling, extracurricular activities, and more. You want to cover all of their wants and needs, as silly as the latter might be at times. In that, an important thing to provide them with is financial stability and a good financial role model. While financial stability can be difficult to achieve, especially nowadays, providing kids with good background behavior before they have to make tough financial decisions is crucial. Teaching them how to save and spend their money effectively does not require parents to have access to massive finances. More usually, it requires patience and practice as they learn to navigate finances through small steps in the beginning. Benefits of teaching kids about money We have already mentioned that you are raising your child with the best intentions. Given that money shapes a lot of our choices and possibilities in life, you do not want to simply ignore the topic of money. This will only provide confusion and poor choices later in life. With a good example and a good set of lessons and practices, your child can end up becoming a true financial wizard with a serious skill set when it comes to financial freedom. Not only this, but providing your kids with this knowledge can ensure more understanding and empathy from your kids’ side next time you go shopping and possibly cannot meet their funny wishes for new toys at a given time (which, realistically, most parents experience). Another strong point why you should immediately jump into having these talks is the fact that you will encourage your children to save money on their own – be it from allowances, spare change at the end of the work week, or a part-time job (depending on their age). How to teach kids financial responsibility While this will vary from household to household and different parenting techniques, technology has provided us with a mountain of opportunities to educate our children. In that regard, financial education is no different than similar apps that allow your kids to practice their guitar lessons or a language they picked up in summer school all from the comfort of their home. One such example that has earned mass praise and global following is a card & app called BusyKid. This app gives your kids enough freedom to practice their saving, spending, and investment skills. Look at this as a debit card for money and household chores. At the same time, this option gives you enough oversight to ensure that what they are doing is making good choices. To put simply – this app will give your children practical lessons and a safe environment to practice them in. BusyKid will usually run you $3.99 per month, unless you go for the yearly plan. Another great source of education is schooling. However, not all chilling teaches a child to be financially independent. So, you need to find the right school with inclusive education in Singapore as it teaches the importance of empowerment and independence among other academic courses. Let’s keep it real. Kids nowadays have a far superior access to technology than their parents’ generations had. Taking these lessons with a mobile app is a great way to reach your kids in a way that feels familiar to them. Conclusion No, conversations about money are not easy to have with your children. Yes, they are necessary. Yes, they can be a lot easier than you would initially expect. Just remember that the point is to provide them a safe learning environment, a lot of support and patience. In that way, your children will be set for success. Understanding money is no easy task, but you will be giving your kids a head start if you dive into this early enough. Now is as good a time as any to start. SHARE THIS POST