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As a parent, you want to do all that you can to prepare your child for adult life. There are many things that you will want to teach them about and skills to develop and often you can start doing this from a very young age. One of the most important things to teach your kids about is money because you want them to develop good habits and financial intelligence, especially as it is not taught in schools.
Why Introducing Money is Important
It is important to introduce money as a concept to children so that they can develop good financial habits from a young age. When people develop financial intelligence from a young age, they will be able to build a good lifestyle for themselves when they become independent and avoid falling into financial trouble (a slippery slope). As personal finance is not taught in schools, it is down to the parent to teach their kids about personal finance. This can also help inspire a child to learn subjects they might not be 100% passionate about, such as through engaging maths worksheets from DoodleLearning, as these concepts will come into play later.
When to Start?
So, when should you start teaching your kids about money? You can actually start doing this from a very young age as long as you tailor the education to their development. For a toddler, for example, you could begin simply by counting coins and giving them a piggy bank to put coins in. For young children, you could open a savings account and give them an allowance while teaching them the value of saving as opposed to spending frivolously. For older kids/young teens, you can talk to them about getting a job to earn their own money, the importance of living within your means and how to be financially responsible.
How to Pass on Good Habits
Children tend to adopt the habits of their parents, so you want to make sure that you are a good role model when it comes to personal finance. You should be open about your finances with them and talk to them about creating a household budget that you stick to, finding ways to make savings and the importance of having money tucked away that you can access if you need as well as money that is put to work to build for the future (investments, pensions etc.). Try to avoid frivolous spending but also discuss the importance of enjoying the money that you have when you are able to, such as going on holiday.
It is important to teach your kids about money and personal finance so that they can develop good habits and financial intelligence from a young age. This is not a subject that is taught in schools but you can start teaching your kids about money from a young age and this is a good idea so that they can prepare for adult life and being financially responsible.