My recent post about helping make doing chores more attractive and fun for your children got me thinking about how kiddos learn about money. I’ll admit, my parents were fairly tight-lipped about money when I was young. They were both public school teachers and we lived comfortably but modestly, but still, I didn’t have good habits when it came to saving and spending until I was a few years out of college. We’ve tried some of these with our boys over the years; what strategies have worked well with your family?
Resources include The Child Mind Institute, Autism Spectrum News, and Charles Schwab
- Start Young. Use age-appropriate language and avoid complicated financial jargon. Use simple words like “save,” “spend,” and “share” to differentiate the key uses of money.
- For younger kids, help them identify and define “needs” versus “wants”… it’s a lesson most adults could benefit from, as well!
- Include children in basic financial decisions, from looking at ads together, to comparing prices of various products. We taught our boys to look at the unit price of certain goods to know if a bigger jar is really a better deal, for example.
- Use a Visual Savings Goal. Does your child want a particular video game, or a new pair of shoes? Print out a picture or let them draw one, and hang it in a place they’ll see it regularly to be inspired to save to get that thing (or experience).
- I know several families that utilize envelopes or jars to distinguish money their children are saving, able to spend, or plan to donate to a cause or charity. Set them on your counter or their dresser as a visual reminder of their plans.
- We currently have a flyer on our refrigerator that features a giant thermometer that my son is coloring in to represent a debt he is paying off to us for expenses related to Little League gear. He has worked hard this summer on outdoor and indoor chores, applying his normal allowance to this goal until it’s met, then he’ll re-earn physical money.
- Play Money Games. Pull out board games like Monopoly or Monopoly Junior, The Game of Life, or others that help kids have fun while learning about earning, spending, and making choices with money.
- When I was little, I loved setting up “stores” and “restaurants” in my house whereby my sibling and parents would purchase or order certain things and I would produce some fanciful thing made out of playdough or paper in exchange for real or play money. I didn’t get to keep it, of course, but our conversations were fun and informative.
- Encourage Generosity. Call it sharing, tithing, or donating, learning the value of charitable giving helps children build empathy and shows that money can be used to help others, not just ourselves. Help your children identify a cause they are passionate about, and add that to their financial goals each week or month.
- Understand How Neurodivergence Impacts Money Decisions. A variety of conditions and diagnoses can make it harder for some children to understand and apply certain financial concepts. My oldest has ADHD so delayed gratification can be torture. Dividing concepts into smaller chunks, using real-world examples and scenarios as teaching opportunities, and repetition can be helpful tools.
