Where are You on Kids and Pocket Money?

As I discovered when chatting to a group of parents about kids and  pocket money (allowance) the topic can get quite emotive! There are some quite disparate views about how much, when to start and whether or not it should be for doing family/household chores.

Everyone in the group gave their children pocket but the amount was the tricky part.  It seemed to be linked more to peer pressure about what other children were getting, rather than what the parents thought was appropriate.

This story from one Mum really highlighted the children’s understanding of the value of money.  “It was Christmas and each of the three kids got an envelope with $20 in it from their Aunt.  The 11 year old got mildly excited about $20.  The 7 year old thought it was a lot of money and the three year old wondered why his Aunt had given him a pretty picture…”

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Children and Money: To Teach or Not to Teach…

Financial literacy for children is a hot topic.  Start them young so they learn to save not spend, is one school of thought.  But what if as a parent you are struggling with your own financial literacy can you be a positive role model?

Children and money is always a very interesting topic of conversation.

The question of what to teach children about money and when to start is something I am asked quite frequently in my role as a money mentor.

I really like Rob Stocks article Cents and Financial Sensibility , his 10 point checklist, whilst somewhat tongue in cheek, does have a few gems in it.

Teaching your children financial literacy should go hand in hand with their understanding of maths. There is no point trying to teach the value of $20 or what you can buy with it if the child can only count to 10.