Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Karri-Leigh P. Mastrangelo: Pregnant or Not, I Don't Regret My…
How To Have A Stress-Free Blended Family Vacation
How to Talk to Kids About the Economy
Filed under: Work Life
My princess loving three-year-old only recently learned that Disney World is an actual destination. "You can GO there?" she asked me incredulously ... and maybe just a little accusingly too, as in then why haven't you taken me there yet?I would love to, I explained to her. Maybe even next winter if we're careful with our spending. Very careful.
Kids, as a rule, shouldn't hear about their parents' money worries. Those are adult problems, after all. But even young children are feeling the bite of a bad economy when the first things parents cut from the budget is the "fun stuff."
Just because we aren't going to burden our kids with stress and worry doesn't mean we can't teach them a few things about personal finance. And if you're tightening your family's financial belt, now might be the perfect time. Over at wikiHow, they've got an interview with Personal Finance for Dummies author Eric Tyson, where he shares twelve tips for teaching kids about money.
After all, when this economy is finally patched up and set right, it's those same kids we'll be handing it off to. It might be good for them to know how to handle it when we do.
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
Recently Asked
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
Teaching Kids Financial Responsibility
Finance expert Janet Bodnar explains how to teach children about money so they can have a healthy attitude about it in life.
-
How Kids Can Protect Themselves When Bullies Get Physical
What if your child is being physically attacked by a bully? What can he or she do? Author of Bullied and parenting expert Carrie Goldman gives valuable resources and advice to parents of victims of bullies, and what to do when bullies get rough. Part of the series Mondays with Marlo on MarloThomas.com.
-
Unique Birthday Party Ideas for Kids
Tracy Frost , parenting expert, shares some great fun, creative and budget friendly birthday party ideas, to make you child's dream come true.
-
How to Outsmart Your Kids with Child Psychology
Are your children running the household? Take back control with these sneaky strategies from parenting experts.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
1-29-2009 @ 11:00AM
Patti Handy said...Hi,
I totally agree that it is important to involve our kids with money issues. Not all issues, of course, but they should be aware of the kind of money it takes to run a household.
As a money coach for kids, I am always encouraging parents to start the conversation. We need to educate and empower our kids today, so they don't have the struggles that many face today.
Best,
Patti Handy
www.kidscashcoach.com
Reply
1-29-2009 @ 11:53AM
SKL said...It's easier to give than to take away. To me, the most logical approach is to not get them used to "getting" whatever their little hearts desire in the first place. Money is never something to be squandered - even if you're Bill Gates, there are charitable causes to be supported. One unnecessary toy purchase could feed an orphan in a poor country for months, or provide textbooks for a whole school somewhere. There has to be a good reason for each purchase; if you buy stuff just because you "can," it will be harder to get your kids on board when you find you "can't."
Reply
1-29-2009 @ 4:34PM
ame s said...My 9 & 11 year old daughters receive an allowance. We give them a minimum of $5 a week, up to $15 a week if they do extra jobs. They receive cash from relatives for birthdays & Christmas.
They have understood for years that if they see something in a store & want it, they must pay for it. They are choosy about what they spend money on.
We saved for 2 years for our trip to Disney World. They brought their own spending money. I kept an envelope for each, and once it was spent, that was that.
In December they decided to spend $50 each for a day of horse riding camp. I suggested they should save the money, but they really wanted to go and had a great time.
If they want to go to riding camp for a week this summer, it will be their $200 that pays for it.
Reply
1-31-2009 @ 5:44PM
Sara said...I couldn't agree with you more. You can do Disney on a budget. We saved for about a year for our trip this past year, and asked the family to give our kids "Disney Dollars." They used their money for what they wanted, and we were relatively off the hook for things we might not have paid for. My 9 year old, after seeing some prices, even gave us "his" money to pay for a meal at the park.
Kids have to be brought up respecting money, and be given the chance to make their decisions. Saving for that trip was probably the best lesson they could have had. They already want to save for another trip in a few years!
As for allowances--I may be mean, but they have to tithe part of their allowance also. But, I am also the mom who makes them get rid of a toy/outfit when they get new things.
3-20-2009 @ 8:18AM
Christine Smith said...My husband lost his job and we do NOT tell the kids. This is his 6th job layoff in ten years and we've learned by our mistakes. Telling the kids Daddy does not have a job kicks off a wave of depression in the entire family. He takes the kids to school in the morning then goes to the job search center and spends all day looking for a new IT job. We simply tell the kids that the economy is really tight, gas prices are affecting our budget and we need to cut our expenses. They accept this and they too want to help.
When my older daughter forgets to turn off her bedroom light, my younger daughter announces it to the entire family "You left your light on again." Now we say "Green Girl, your light is on and you're not saving energy." She thinks its really cool to "Go Green" so we speak her language, help conserve energy, and spend less on utilities.
http://walkingwithfaith.wordpress.com
Reply