When it comes to raising your kids, the biggest goal of yours as a parent is to make sure that they are set up for success later in life. One thing that you have to do as a parent to help get them ready for life is to teach them about money. Money can be a complex topic to introduce to your child as there are a lot of things that they need to know that will go over their heads as children.
Of course, you, as a parent, may wonder, “Will the Iraqi dinar revalue,” if you have foreign currency investments, but kids will not understand all that goes into this right now, so just teach them the basics.
Teaching your kids about money, whether your currency is the United States dollar or the Iraqi dinar, does not have to be a difficult task. It can be fun and interesting for them. Below are some easy ways, that are also fun for your kids, that can teach them all they need to know about money starting out.
Get a traditional piggy bank
Kids love to have their own piggy bank that they can put their money into. This is an easy way for them to start learning how to save money and put it away so it does not get spent on unnecessary things. You can give them a weekly allowance so they learn to put it away, and when they finally get to open their bank and see all the money they were able to save, they will be excited to continue doing it.
Use board games to learn about money
Break out the old traditional games that have fake money as part of the game. Games like Monopoly or Life cause you to think through investments and make sure you save money so you can win the game, and really not even realize that you are doing it. These games even go beyond just learning how to save money or wise investments. They can teache your kids about important life skills like buying houses or property, renting out a property for a profit, and putting aside money to get ready for retirement.
Use technology to your advantage
In this day and age, the younger generation is all about technology and being in front of a screen every chance that they get. The good news for you as a parent is that you can use this to your advantage. There are several YouTube channels that have been created specifically to teach your child about money. If your kid is watching TV or getting on YouTube anyway, why not make it an educational time so they get entertainment while learning at the same time. It is a win for everybody!
Start playing bank or store with them
Kids learn best when they are able to play, have fun, and use their imagination. A great way to teach your kids about money is to get them a cash register with fake money and start playing store with them or bank with them. Playing something like this will exercise their imagination, it will teach them how to add up their money, and how to manage their money when they are shopping so they do not go over budget and have money left over.
Kids are competitive—start using competition
If you have multiple kids, a great way to encourage them to save their money up is by enticing them with a little bit of competition. One competition you can do is a saving competition. Set a time frame like a month or two and see who can save the most money at the end of the time. You as the parent can even get in on the fun and save a little bit along with them. Whoever saves the most money at the end of that time gets some type of prize or present as a reward. This shows your kids just how fun saving money really can be and that you can get a big payout for your efforts in the end.
The most important thing to teach your kids about money is that though it is important to save money and spend or invest it wisely, money is not everything. Money is merely a tool to get you where you want to be in life, but it should not be everything you work for.
