As a mother of two young children I have begun to think about how they see money, how they see what Mummy does for a job and what they understand about money.
My eldest child is well into his first year at school and has begun to ask about pocket money, he often asks me to buy items on my card and if something breaks he asks for a new one. So I have begun to inform him, in a method that I feel is appropriate for a 5 year old, how we earn money so you can not just get items when you break things as everything has a value, what Mummy does whilst working at her computer at home and that sometimes you have to save your money for an item you desire. I feel like he is understanding that people go to work or work from home to earn money and the different items cost different amounts so you have to work longer or harder for bigger items. I have begun to read articles online and I have enjoyed reading the Money Helper article where you can learn tips and hints on ways to advance your child's financial knowledge.
Whilst these conversations have been happening at home I have read a great article in YPN magazine. I would recommend that you check out this article but as summary the author comments on
teach our children financial knowledge beyond what they learn at school such as saving so that get a foundation of finances.
let them earn their pocket money and decide where to spend it. Allowing the child to earn the money themselves via small tasks shows them value of time and effort creates rewards. With a slight guidance on capping expenditure you can show the child they can buy small ticket items quickly but for those more expensive items they must save their money and maybe pass on the small value items to secure this expensive item. This teaches them the difference of desire and need and also to be patience, and focus on their end goal to achieve it. There are a number of pre-paid card schemes that allow the children to learn to budget and manage their money but in a very safe way. A very popular card is Go Henry.
In the UK a child can work for you at 13 years old.This is tax deductible for your business and definitely one that I am to trial so that the children see that Mummy does have a job and is not just at home whilst they are at school. This will show the children that work can be about exchanging time for money, and that if you work hard you get rewarded - money does not grow on trees.
As the children get older I will get them involved in selling unwanted items either via online platforms, boot fairs or a drive way sale. This will help develop their negation, sales and marketing skills.
Be open with my two boys about what I do, what Daddy does, when things are good and when things are tougher so they can start to understand what an adults work means. I would try to explain why their parents work from themselves with the positive and negatives rather than having an employed role
