I'm not just talking about the basics such as where it comes from and what it's worth.
I've tried to write down a few of the ideas that I think might be helpful to other parents who are trying to teach healthy attitudes toward money to their children.
Every time I heard "daddy, stay home, I don't want you to go to work today" it was an opportunity for me to say "I have to go to work to make some money to buy you food and pay for the house and get you treats".
But just equating work with money isn't always enough.
I remember one day when my daughter was approaching her 5th birthday, she was very sad and said that she didn't wan't to have a birthday.
Finally she said "I just don't want to grow up because I'll have to go to work and I don't know what to do at work.
Because my wife and I do a lot of our work at desks in offices, it was very hard to see what we actually did.
This message can be imparted in so many "teachable moments" every day.
This kind of universal exposure to the vast variety of occupations gave our kids the confidence that they would certainly be able to grow up and find something they loved to do in order to make money.
We don't give out allowances, but we've started to reward specific jobs around the house with small amounts of money.
What Money is worth - The only way to teach kids what money is worth is by havin them earn it and spend it.
I like the concept of money as energy.
They can then give that money to someone else who put theri energy into something.
I tell my kids about the farmers that grew the carrots and point out that we have to give them money for their hard work.
Saving - When I was young the discount stores we still called "Five and Dime" because you could supposedly get things for that amount of money.
We'll go in with a dollar and we'll go around looking for things that cost less than a dollar.
But inevitably there will be something they want that costs more than what they have and this is when you get to teach them about saving.
I make sure to try and take the kids with me to the bank as often as I can, and I try to go inside to an actual person when I have the time (and if my bank doesn't charge me for it).
Taking them on deposit trips is more important than just taking them to the ATM to withdraw money.
Charity - Almost as soon as my kids figured out that money could buy nice things at shops, they began to clamor for us to give them money.
Unfortunately though, we are surrounded in our city by plenty of people in need and we make an effort to teach our children about charity in response to this.
Whenever we have leftover food from a restaurant, we will make an effort to find someone on the street to give it to.
There are countless ways of teaching kids about charity, and not all of them involve direct interaction with people who may have drug problems or psychoses.
Poor - Which brings me directly into the discussion of Rich and Poor.
Firstly, it isn't all about money and secondly, it's all relative.
I break it down into simpler terms for my kids by saying that it's all about how you feel and how much you want things.
The easiest way to have everything you want, is to want everything you have.
Your attitude toward your situation is really what determines whether your rich or poor, no matter how much or how little money you have.
My daughter asked the fellow if she could pet his dog and while she patted the dog on the head she said to the man "Are you poor?".
And on the other side of the equation, I've seen some very well off people feel poor because they can't afford to travel in first class on the airplane, but on the same plane other people are feeling rich simply because they got on.
I frequently tell my children that no matter how much or how little money we have, there will always be someone who has more money, and someone who has less and you can't focus on other people.
The most important thing we can teach our children whether we have a lot or a little, is to appreciate what we do have and continue to improve our own situation by working hard, and improve the situation of others by helping where we can.
Discretion and Modesty - The last thing I have tried to teach our kids is that money matters should be private matters.
They also know how easy it is to feel sorry for those who don't have as much.
If we tell people how much money we ourselves have, other people will automatically compare what they have to what we have and nothing good can come of it.
Ultimately, what you teach your children about money should relect kindness, generosity and appreciation for the abundance of life and I believe you can teach these things about money whether you have a lot or a little, and frankly, in these uncertain economic times, these lessons are more important than ever.
No comments:
Post a Comment