Teaching Children Money Management

Where in the typical school curriculum are the courses in "how to make and manage money"? Personal debt and bankruptcies are soaring, but we don't teach our children money management? Something is wrong with this picture. In the past, many valued thrift and feared debt but not any more. Wouldn't it be best to learn that kids and money management go together?

What are ways to teach our children money management skills? Of course one way is to give children allowances. Then we can help our children use that "income" in a prudent way...maybe even set a budget allowing for savings and the various categories of spending. An allowance can be a good teaching tool.

Some people use kid money games to teach principles of personal finance. There are merits to this, though it is quite a leap from the world of "Monopoly" to the real world. The real world bombards all of us with unlimited choices to separate us from our funds. And yet the ways to bring in income aren't so clear.

What about money making ideas for children? Kids money making ideas are found in many books. There are many children making a little money with a lemonade stand or a dog walking service. Think of the real world lesssons to be learned from even the smallest business ventures. Marketing, production, inventory, customer service,...every area of the real world of business can be experienced in a tiny business. And then how do you handle the income? There you deal with personal financial management. Learn how to stay out of debt and match your expenses with your income. Learn that needs and wants are not the same thing.

You can buy a book full of children business ideas. But the reality is that children will need help from adults to do very much with most money making ideas. They may need an adult to take the lead and help them. Ideally, they would be a part of a family business and learn money management in a protected real world environment.

But, what if you don't have a family business. You probably have a job and are busy at it. You could start a little part-time business specifically to involve your children in the business. My family started a part-time handcrafted soap business and our children learned all kinds of valuable lessons about businesses. That's just one example. There are unlimited opportunities to start a part-time micro business and help teach your children money management. It will take some work to get started, but who knows, it can be a fun project and make you a useful second income.