photo credit: pfala

Parents nowadays still teach their children old money traditional values that their own parents taught them like ‘Save money today, so you will have some money for tomorrow’ or ‘Waste not, want not (don’t waste anything)’.

Today’s society

However, today’s society is known as a “throw-away” society where ‘Buy now and pay later’, are common-place. Instant gratification is also normal, why wait when you can get it now.

Our kids will certainly get confuse when we tell them one thing and they see otherwise. This is because children learn from what they see and hear. So in this situation, a parent has to make extra efforts to instill the correct money values in their children. As always, talking to your kids is an easy and direct way to start. Open and constant communication, one to one, is recommended for effectiveness.

Allowance

The introduction of an allowance can also be a good teaching method. This method allows the child to take responsibility on how to spend or use the money. The allowance can also be given for doing chores or responsibilities around the house. The amount given will differ in every family. Give only what you can afford to give.

Extra income

You can also let your child to earn extra income by doing extra work around the house, garden, farm or during special occasions. This is aside to the normal chores assigned in the beginning. This is called ‘extra income opportunity’ and it teaches your child the idea of working or doing something to earn money. It certainly gives them a better idea on why we need to go to work and earn an income to support the family.

Open communication

At the same time, don’t forget to talk to your children about spending their money wisely. Earning the money is one thing but how to spend the money is equally important. Cover topics like the commercial advertisements shown on TV, the problem with peer pressure, the reasons for saving, etc. Some children may come from wealthier background and can afford more expensive things whereas others may come from a frugal family and hence has less money to spend. Talk to your children about the idea of letting money grow or multiply for future use instead of spending all now. They can learn how to allocate the money for different purposes as well.

The parents play an important role and your children will learn from your parental guidance and example. If the parents show good money habits like saving, chances are the children will pick up the same habit. Therefore, eventually your children will grow up to have good money values picked up from their parents and from what they have learned.

Check out the Carnival of Everything Money for more great ideas.