MyParentingSource Learning Hub: Financial Responsibility

Tips

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Start teaching kids about money early. (Read more...)

Start teaching kids about money early.

By the time kids reach their teens, they should have had experience with saving, earning and spending money. They should understand the need for tradeoffs when it comes to deciding how to spend their money.

To teach kids how to save. (Read more...)

To teach kids how to save.

Use an attractive savings chart so that younger children can see their savings grow until they can purchase the item they’re saving for.

Use the computer to help older kids develop money management skills. (Read more...)

Use the computer to help older kids develop money management skills.

Create a spreadsheet that helps them track the money they bring in against the money they spend and save.

An allowance gives your child experience in managing money. (Read more...)

An allowance gives your child experience in managing money.

Use allowances to teach kids to budget for what they need and save for what they want.

Articles

Financial Responsibility

Resources: Websites, Tools & Books

Websites

Tools

Great Successes. Teach your children to recognize their own successes. Daily life holds lots of challenges -- from asking another child to play at recess to finishing a project on time. A task that is easy for one child can present a significant hurdle for another. By appreciating children's efforts to surmount their personal hurdles, parents demonstrate respect and acceptance -- and that's how children learn to accept and respect themselves!

HINT: Success and perfection are not the same thing! Part of building resilience and self esteem is teaching children to feel pride in progress toward a goal rather than withholding celebration until perfection is achieved.
I Can Make It Happen! Promote your children's ultimate financial success by building their sense of empowerment to reach their financial goals. Use the I Can Make It Happen! Financial Goal Chart to teach your children that it all starts with a vision of what they want to achieve. Then show them how to work toward it, tracking their results as they go.

HINT: Engineer Success! Start small -- that is, a small goal with a small child. Use this tool as soon as your children understand the concept of money and are able to handle a little delay in getting what they want. For a small child, the first goal item should cost a dollar or less. Be sure to help your child mark on the chart exactly where each deposit came from, whether that's completing a chore, saving allowance or receiving a gift of money. The completed chart is a powerful visual reminder that I Can Make It Happen!
My Action Plan. My Action Plan shows your child how to set a goal and make a plan to achieve it. Use this tool together with My Goal Tracker, a tool to help your child follow through on her Action Steps so that she can reach her goal.

Moving from vision to accomplishment requires a set of skills that parents can teach. Use My Action Plan to show your child how to put a goal into words and how to think through the Action Steps he’ll have to take in order to reach that goal. Guide the process by being curious. Ask questions like, “What do you think you’ll have to do to make that happen?” and “How often (or how many times) do you think you’ll need to do that?”

HINT: Start small! Use this tool with early elementary age children on goals that they can achieve quickly. They’ll gain a strong feeling of competence and of their ability to decide what they want – and go after it.
My Goal Tracker. Self-esteem is directly connected to achievement. That’s great news, because you can teach your children the skills to name their goals and reach them. My Goal Tracker is designed to allow children to monitor their own progress on the Actions Steps that lead to achieving their goals.

HINT: Celebrate success! Consider going shopping for the stickers of your child’s choice to use on the Goal Tracker. (Try the scrapbooking section of your favorite crafts store.) Make sure to share the pride and delight you feel as your child takes steps towards reaching a goal. Having their efforts recognized and genuinely appreciated is a reward in itself.
Shop Smart Chart. There’s hardly a purchase you can make that doesn’t involve choices and comparisons. Learning how to pinpoint the features they prefer and find the best price are skills that empower children to seek out -- and get -- what they want. Studies show that comparing every make and model to make the perfect decision is a recipe for unhappiness, while doing enough research to make a purchase that adequately meets your needs leads to contentment. The Shop Smart chart will allow you to walk your kids through a decision-making process that they can use for a lifetime.

HINT: Plan about a half hour to walk through the Shop Smart Chart. Start by helping your child articulate what he’s shopping for, how much he’s willing to spend, and the special features that are most important to him. Then show him how to make the calls or search online to locate the best model at a good price. Making those calls can be stressful for some kids, so provide lots of modeling, support, and encouragement (for ages 10 and up).

Bookshelf

General

Kids and Money: Giving Them the Savvy to Succeed Financially, Jayne A Pearl.

A business reporter and editor for 20 years, Jayne Pearl has written extensively on money matters. She believes that allowances are effective teaching tools and believes that they should be separate from chores. The guidance in her book includes tips on making allowances work, teaching kids about money, and saving and investing.

Raising Money Smart Kids: What They Need to Know about Money and How to Tell Them, Janet Bodnar.

Janet Bodnar is an editor for Kiplinger’s Magazine and a regular speaker on money matters. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. Bodnar discourages credit cards for teens and teaches how to use allowances effectively among many other tips throughout her book.

Money Doesn't Grow On Trees: A Parent's Guide to Raising Financially Responsible Children, Neale S. Godfrey, Carolina Edwards, Tad Richards.

Godfrey is Chairman of the Children’s Financial Network and a regular national TV commentator. The tips in her book are helpful for setting up spending and saving plans. Godfrey helps parents to set up plans based on their values.

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