To get your kids to understand how to manage their money, the company's tips include:
- Be honest about your own money mistakes, and figure out a way to let your kids learn from what you did.
- Don't get your kids started on credit cards, or debit cards or anything that looks like a credit card. It's the biggest mistake you can make.
- Get your children on a regular habit of money management. Whether it's a written format or a computer program or just a tablet with lines on it, start them on a process that will evolve with them as their income and expenses evolve. It's like setting them up as their own accountants.
- Be a good role model. If you're telling your kids to be prudent in money management, are you doing the same?
- Allow your kids to make their own mistakes. Nothing teaches good money habits like making mistakes that cost you. Better children should make a $25 mistake now than a $25,000 mistake later.
David Owen, author of The First National Bank of Dad (Simon & Schuster, 2003), has a similar philosophy: Let kids screw up early on, so their mistakes make a lasting impression without doing major harm. Owen started teaching his two children by setting up a "bank" at home for them, with an attractive rate of return on the money they chose to save. Later Owen created a stock market and money-market fund for his kids.
Two New Books for More Tips
Raising Money-Smart Kids (Dearborn Trade, 2005), by Janet Bodnar, executive editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Her approach: It's the job of parents to help their children grasp money and its role in society.
Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids (Hyperion, 2005), by Clark Howard, includes worksheets and practical advice aimed at helping parents teach real-world financial skills to kids of all ages.
Another resource: Allowance Magic (Kids' Money Press, 2003), by David McCurrach, aims to get kids in the habit of saving and sharing a portion of everything they get. It includes two sections: one for parents, one for kids. For more information, the Web site is www.kidsmoney.org.
Source: Buffalo News. Powered by Yellowbrix.
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