Hello everyone, welcome back to my blog, this week's prompt for the Hivenaija community is one that cuts across to everyone, it's a question to most parents and guardians keep asking themselves and seeking advice for. I could relate so much to this prompt, hence the reason I had to jump right on it.
What do you think is the right age for children to be exposed to money?
Money is a vital tool in our world today, without it, so many things won't be done, the basic necessities we need in life won't be available without money in the picture, hence the reason it is important to introduce the concept of money to children on time.
There is no definite time one can point out as the perfect time to introduce or expose them to money. Personally, I believe that little bits of money matters should be introduced to them at different points in their lives.
Introducing financial education at different level of a child's life will greatly impact the nature of the child's financial future. Teaching them how to calculate money, how to save, how to manage and budget money, how to earn and also making little financial decisions is a necessity and also helps set a strong financial foundation for them as they grow and begin to associate with society.
But someone will ask when exactly is the right time, well I'd say you should tailor these lessons according to their developmental stages, use what they can relate with at every point to pass the message.
For instance for a toddler, you could start by familiarizing the child with notes of your currency, telling them how they can be used for buying things. You could try acting the part of using paper money to buy toy food or toys themselves or even houses, just anything visual to enable them familiarize themselves with how money is being used in the real world.
For a bit older toddlers, we could also begin to teach them the concept of earning money, how can you do this? This can be achieved by making them do little chores around the house in exchange for their very own money. At this age, kids are usually eager to help out around the house, so why not use it to your advantage and pass on some knowledge that they won't forget in a hurry. At this point you could also include the art of saving to them, you let them know they can't spend all of their earnings, that there is need to save for the future and also to get some things done. You could introduce something like a piggy bank to them by using empty jars or constructed wooden boxes where they get to save their money. This way they can open it at the end of a particular period when the money must have accumulated and then they can be able to appreciate the art of saving.
Children within the ages of 8 - 13 could be taught the concept of budgeting, this they can do with their allowances, at this phase also you could also include the idea of financial goal setting.
I could remember when I was a little above this age range when I told myself that at the end of a particular school session, I wanted to have a particular amount of money which would enable me get a particular toy that was the rave around that time. At this point no one really thought me about this sort of things, I just knew I wanted to get that particular toy, and if I asked my dad to get me, he might not agree due to limited funds, so I set out to begin my saving, by the end of the session when I counted how much I had, it wasn't still up to the amount I needed so I told my dad about it, and he was so proud of me for even thinking of saving such an amount, he added it up and then got me the toy. At this point I was so proud of myself also for achieving this feat.
So you see, teaching or exposing children to money doesn't really have a timetable to it, there's no hard and fast rule about it, just start with the basics based on your child's understanding capacity, and always remember to make fun, it helps in the learning process.
Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your read
