What Does Your Kid Know About Money?

Last week, my son and I were invited to teach his first grade class about money. Based on his homework from previous weeks I knew they had been learning about recognizing the different denominations of money, their worth, and how to count it. I asked my son what he thought we should teach to his classmates and he said, "How money works. We haven't learned that at all". We came up with a fun way to teach the kids how money can work for them by teaching them about assets. Now, before your eyes glass over, hang in there because believe it or not there are funs ways to teach what is perceived as a boring, useless and complicated concept to first graders. It can be done in a fun way that will have a lasting impact on how they think about money. If you are interested in learning more, I have laid out the activity we used so you can adapt it and use it as well.  Teaching Kids About Money Class Activity

The first question I asked the students was, "Where does money come from?". The answers I got were "the bank”, “mom”, “from credit cards”, and my favorite, “when you buy something and pay with money, they will give you money back". Admittedly, I chuckled a bit at the answers. They were cute and innocent, but later in the day I began to think about how kids' answers to questions are simply a reflection of what they have been exposed to. For example, my son is a big fan of a pbs cartoon, Wild Kratts. The premise is two brothers save animals from bad guys and in the meantime they teach all about the animals they are saving. Consequently, my son can regurgitate all types of animal trivia, such as, how fast and far a cheetah runs, what a stoop is, the loudest mammal in the world, how long a caterpillar remains in a chrysalis until it becomes a butterfly, and the list goes on and on. He also loves art class, which I attribute to an engaging teacher that presents the information in a fun and creative way. He frequently comes home with stories about artists they studied, the artist’s famous works, and the different experiences they had during their life. As a parent, you have undoubtedly experienced similar things with your child. As I reflected on this, it hit me like a ton of bricks; I had presented the concept of money to 21 students, of which none had been deliberately taught anything about. The irony of it is that money will impact every child in that room, and each person will have to manage money or be managed by it. All of their answers came from what they had seen or experienced but none of them had been intentionally taught about what money is, where it comes from, how it works and what impact it will have on their lives. On the flip side, had I asked them questions about animals, the state flower, the Mona Lisa or a number of other topics, they could have provided me answers. To be clear, I am not discounting this information, and believe that children should be exposed to and taught about many things. What struck me so hard was that money will impact every child in that room no matter what they go on to be, and their only exposure to it entails recognizing different denominations and counting it. 

The good news is that children are sponges, eager to learn and soak up information. Recognizing that financial education and wealth creation will not be taught in school makes it incumbent upon parents to be intentional and deliberate in teaching their kids to be financially savvy. Undoubtedly, our kids will learn how to interact with money, but left to its own accord, it will be shortly after graduating from college with student loans, a new mortgage, car payment, and the bills that go along with it. They will be in the rat race before they even know what it means, and many will spend the rest of their life trying to dig their way out.

My hope is to increase your awareness about the need to teach our children about money, and to help provide you with tools and ideas to do it. My intent is not to have all our children be filthy rich entrepreneurs, as this may not be their life’s plan nor desire, but rather equip them with the information to make educated decisions about money and its impact on their life.