Being all observant, our children start noticing us using money to get things that we want at an early age. And why shouldn’t they? Because this is something that they would be doing for the rest of their lives, so it’s better that they pick it up early in life. As parents, we have the opportunity of exploiting this curious nature of kids in teaching them the value of money since an early age. So, that is why I am sharing with you Encourage Your Kids to Realize the Value of a Dollar.
1 Relate money with work
Maimonides once said:
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
So, for the sake of love you have for your children, it is better teaching them how to fish rather than feeding them with some easy fish. One of the first things that children get to know about money is that it is nice to have, because it gets them candies and toys. However, you have to relate this ‘good thing to have’ with working for it to earning it. This will teach them to value the money rather than taking it for granted. Once they realize that this money doesn’t come easy to them, they will start valuing it and this could be one of the best things that you could teach them early in their life.
2 Add fun to work
This is very important. Since kids are young, they love to have fun, and this is something parents can use in helping their kids learn the value of money. Nowadays, you can find plenty of money based games for kids online. Or better yet, you can involve your kids in daily chores and every time they complete a task, you can reward them in cash.
3 Introduce them to the concept of rewards and penalties
Teaching your kids that they need to work hard to earn money is good, but what’s more important in many ways is that they also realize that retaining the earned money requires even more hard work. The concept of reward and penalties is very helpful in teaching them this. For example, you can extend rewards to them for their good behaviour at the end of a week, and penalise them by not rewarding them if they misbehave. It’s like killing two birds with one arrow!
4 The Concept of Donation
Your children also need to see those less fortunate souls who don’t have enough money to make both ends meet. It is very important that they understand that sometimes one can end up not having enough money without a fault or choice of their own, and such people deserve our generosity. It is quite imperative that you introduce them to the concept of donation to such unfortunate people. In fact, it is these acts of generosity and compassion that serve as the strongest fabric to hold the structure of society together. Most importantly, this will help them get the idea of saving something for rainy days.
Conclusion
Raising your children to be productive as well as responsible citizens of the society is one of the toughest jobs around, more of an ongoing education rather than one time affair. So, you better start teaching them the essentials of living a successful and prosperous life, and one of the best things you can teach them in this regard is the value of a hard earned dollar.
