Don’t Miss Opportunities to Teach Kids About Money
Our children are very observant and learn many things-both good and not so good—-from watching adults. There’s no question that our nation as a whole could benefit from greater financial literacy and we can start by raising “money smart” kids. According to T. Rowe Price’s 11th annual Parents, Kids and Money Survey, 85% of parents believe they teach their children everything they need to know about money. Yet, 2 of 3 parents express some level of reluctance to discuss money or financial topics with their children and roughly half believe they often miss opportunities to talk with their children about money and finances.
A key to teaching kids about money is to recognize “teachable moments”. In our busy lives, we are often so preoccupied with getting everything done that we may not take the time to explain things to our children. Here are some examples of teachable moments:
- Figuring out how much you save on “sale” items.
- Calculating how much to tip at a restaurant.
- Going into a bank to complete a financial transaction.
- Determining the amount of sales tax you will pay for a contemplated purchase.
- Discussing the cost of college and framing it in reference to other major purchases like automobiles and houses.
There are surely countless others that will help our kids to develop some of the skills they will need to succeed in an ever more complex financial world. They grow up quickly so learning opportunities won’t present themselves forever!!
