Comments on: Talking About Finances With Your Children

By: Alissa

Alissa — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:01:20 +0000

Our kids are 7 and 4 and, in my opinion, don't need to receive money for doing nothing in return. We just worked out a pay-for chores system where we keep track of what gets done during the week on a dry erase board and payday is on Sunday. Only the 7yo is eligible for this as the 4yo takes too much supervision. He whines about it but cannot wait until he is in 2nd grade and do chores too. The average weekly take is around $1.75. I should add that none of the $$chores are things they have to do simply to exist in the house, such as make beds, clean up toys, and brush teeth. Alissa´s last blog post..It’s A Jungle In Here

By: andy

andy — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:11:05 +0000

Kids should learn about stocks and investing from an early age. They should also be allowed to make “mistakes”, because that is where you learn the most from.

By: CC

CC — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:56:23 +0000

We probably talk about money too much.... but we try to emphasize that we have no more money for that. When the envelope is empty, there is no money left. My son has a monthly allowance. As soon as we give it to him, he breaks it into save, spend, and give. So far it's been working out well (but it's only been about 5 months now). CC´s last blog post..Language Disorders in Children Adopted Internationally

By: Gidget

Gidget — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:19:17 +0000

A friend of mine had a great idea-- because they feel their family has been blessed (with income in one way or another) they share that with their kids- a small, weekly allowance, that is set by mom & dad and not based on chores. I love this idea, it's so sweet! Then they have weekly chores (which I think can be to earn money) which I think teaches a good work ethic. I didn't like doing chores as a kid, but I think it taught be a good lesson, in earning the money I make by being a hard-worker. Gidget´s last blog post..Weekly Surf Spots~ Monday Edition

By: Carol

Carol — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:11:09 +0000

I think that most parents should talk about money to their childen more often. Most parents don’t because 1. It’s an unpleasant subject; 2. They don’t want to worry the kids; and 3. After all, they REALLY want to give their kids the world, whether they can afford it or not.

I wish my parents had done a better job of this, and oddly enough, I think the parents I know who do it best are single parents of single children. Single parents have fewer people to confide in, so they keep their children more in the loop about such matters. I am continually amazed about how realistic about money my seventeen-year-old niece is. It will serve her well as she departs for college in the fall. She’s the daughter of a single mother, and the two are very close. She knows when meeting ends meet has been a struggle.

It’s always better for a child to have two parents, as well as brothers and sisters, but I think there is something to be learned here. Parents should level with their kids, and confide in them as friends. The minute I say this, I realize there are limitations, but I think it’s a valid point, all the same.

By: Christine

Christine — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:22:20 +0000

I belong to the “give them an allowance” camp — not from experience as a parent, but from lack of experience as a child. My parents tried to give us allowances, but would invariably forget or have incorrect change, or would buy us what we wanted anyway. They weren’t consistent with allowances, which meant we didn’t have to be consistent about saving or choosing what to spend our money on. That was one of the hardest lessons I learned when I was finally on my own in college. Good luck!

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:07:08 +0000

@Niki,

Come back and tell us what you learned!

By: niki

niki — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:51:10 +0000

I wish I knew the answers to your questions. Unfortunately I don't.

So I am arranging for a local financial planner to come to our MOMS Club so we can hear about her informative plan for "How Money Really Works", which details how to explain money to kids.

niki´s last blog post..WFMW…My Christmas To NOT Do List

By: Teri

Teri — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:58:50 +0000

Kids need to know about money–on an age appropriate level, of course. The sooner you begin these discussions the better financial understanding they will have. Growing up, I never had an allowance as my father always said he didn’t believe in it; however, if there were extra chores like washing the car, picking up walnuts in the back yard, etc. outside of the “make your bed, wash the dishes” type of stuff, we would receive compensation for that. And when I was old enough to babysit and later with my first job, my parents expected me to save 10% of whatever I earned, so when I moved out of the house into my first apartment I had a nice safety cushion.

By: gic

gic — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:12:03 +0000

Dear Kelly, thanks for sharing this with us..

I believe children imitate what they see from their parents.. so I think, a child who grows up in a house where mom&dad periodically discuss -not fight about- money, about which bank has higher interests, about how much they saved this month…etc, he/she will pick this up very naturally and apply the same attitude as he/she grows up.

I do not think we need to sit down with our kids at this age and tell them we do not have enough money for this and that, or that we may not be able to live in our house anymore if we buy the more expensive pair of boots..
In my opinion, your kids are way too young for this..they may not clearly understand what is going on and panic. You never know what kind of sacrifices a child will make when he panics

I believe budget and savings talks are for older kids.