“Mother’s day” is in the month of May and today I dedicate this post to all mothers. We all know for a fact that our moms are more than a superwoman. Can we do most things without them? From making us walk to teaching us to count, we learned everything from her. We all try to emulate her. Dont we? and will always try to replicate her; isn’t it? For most of us, our parents are our best buddies and our life revolves around them. Let us get into How Moms teach children the value of money?
So here’s a blog for all mothers who have tiny tots and teens and want to advise them about money and how to use it wisely. The question is whether you’re teaching your children a key lesson that will impact them and that lesson is about money.
Why should children be advised and thought about money at a young age?
Money is central to transacting life, day-in and day out. It impacts where we live, what we eat, the clothes we wear, the car we drive, health care, education, child-rearing, gift-giving, vacations, entertainment. You name anything and money is definitely involved. So Teaching children the value of money becomes important.
Bringing up a child has never been an easy task for any mother, yet they always thrive and succeed in blooming them and making them an amazing individual. But most of the time parents always feel they lag behind in talking money and finance with their young ones. As a parent, you want the best for your children. You want them to be safe and secure and you want to lay a foundation that they can build upon to do well in life.
Kids are always eager for their parents to share their wisdom. So Teaching children the value of money can be exciting too. Whether you teach your kids or not they will still learn lessons about money one way or the other. So if you want to gift them about financial literacy from an early age then here’s how.
So here are certain tips on how to train your little one’s about money from tiny tots to teens:-
Why your mothers are important? Let us abbreviate M-O-T-H-E-R :-
- M-Money is real!
- O-Obligate them to save!
- T-Teach the difference between Needs and Wants!
- H-Home is where the the Charity begins
- E-Encourage them to earn money by creating opportunities!
- R-Responsibility to make wise decisions!
1. Money is real!
Let your kids understand that money is real and it is not a toy. So always start teaching them when they are a young and start at the age of 5 to 7. Because by then most habits would have been formed and they tend to understand a lot of the world. Introduce kids to coins initially and make them count and identify them, by doing so would help them know that there’s something known as money. Slowly introduce them to cash. I know in this digital era it may be difficult to talk about cash but still, you can show them currency notes and ask them to use them.
Remember that seeing is believing, so do let them see you making purchases with cash. Even if you’re using cards or digital payments let them know that you’re making purchases with money. By doing this they will realize that money isn’t a toy to keep sticking it in their mouth as kids. Do the same repeatedly as it will convert to a habit that will teach them the value of money.
2. Obligate them to save!
By Obligate to save, I mean instill in them the habit of saving. I’d like to share my experience here. I was 8 years around when I learned a little about money. My mom always gave me Rs 20 as pocket money and told me to go and buy whatever I want with that money. I was so excited about it. Infact, I still remember the first time I was buying something on my own. I went to the nearest store in my cycle and gave the shopkeeper Rs 20 and told him to give me a packet of chips and candies. After this purchase, the shopkeeper returned Rs 5. I did not know what more to buy so I returned with Rs 5. I came home and told mom and she said keep that Rs 5 in a box and use it next time. That was my first saving.
How to inculcate the habit of saving in your kids? Well, it’s simple to encourage them to save by giving them a piggy bank or a savings jar where they can deposit coins or cash and also put up some clipboards like ” I love saving”. This encourages them to save money rather than spend it all. Most importantly, encourage them to set short-term goals for the purpose of buying something they need. Your encouragement goes a long way in setting them in the right direction from a young age. This definitely is the an important habit How Moms teach children the value of money.
3. Teach the difference between Needs and Wants!
Being an Indian I was always told this famous dialogue “paise ped se nahi atha” which means “money does not grow on trees”. This statement is told to me even today and I am sure I will say the same to my kids in the future! The purpose behind this statement is to make us realize that money is an important resource and that we should not waste it unnecessarily.
How to teach your younger ones the difference between “Needs and wants”.
Firstly, What is a “need”? For children it is something that they need now or in the present. Eg. notebook, water bottle, storybook, etc. something that is required to be used regularly.
On the other hand, a ” want” is a desire. For children, it is something that is not needed immediately. Eg. a fancy toy, or a video game or a dress, or so on.
Thus as parents make them realize the difference between a ” need” and a ” want” and advice them that everything has a value and that they should not waste their hard earned money on desires that do not add any additional value to their life. By doing the above they will learn to prioritize; but strictly do not pamper your child with all the luxury without teaching them the value for money, lest they will simply take things for granted.
4. Home is where the the Charity begins!
Teach your kids or teens, that even though saving money is important sometimes it’s good to share too. By saying the statement I mean to say that help them realize that by sharing money with the needy you make one smile, but share it with those in need or share it for any occasion. It can be a small amount, but always teach them sharing money doesn’t make you poor. This helps build empathy and sets values by which they respect and care for all parts of society. This is one such way how Moms teach children the value of money right at home
5. Encourage them to earn money by creating opportunities!
Teach them the art of knowing the value of money by making them earn on their own. What I mean to say is encourage your kids to do a task no matter how small or simple it is. The best example I can give is give them to do home chores. The idea here is to make them realize that nothing comes for free. To create opportunities for them, give them home chores or tasks by which they can learn and reward them for completing that.
Some simple household tasks may be moving a plate or folding clothes etc. Reward them accordingly.
Other tasks you can give are reading, completing some domestic work, keeping the place tidy, getting creative, etc.
By doing this, they will get the idea that money is to be earned and that they have to get it on their own.
6. Responsibility to make wise decisions!
Decision making takes a lot of effort, no matter how young or old we are, we always think twice before doing something. But when it comes to money most of us fail to dive deep and see whether my purchase was worth every penny spent. SO this task of decision making and being wise can be taught to your tiny tots. Give them some purchasing tasks and ask them to decide as to how much money they have to spend on something and if they need to spend all their money on it.
That is all for How Moms teach children the value of Money?. All the “MOTHER’s” out there I know it’s always challenging to rear your kids but if there is anyone who can be successful, it is you. I hope this blog helps you in instilling Financial literacy to your children from a very young age.
♥
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