How to Learn a Financial Literacy From an Early Age?

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Finacial Literacy

Money is an essential attribute of the life of society, which loves to be counted, and, therefore, it is necessary to treat them carefully and correctly. As an adult, every day we are faced with the need to resolve financial issues, are accustomed to this and know very well how to make decisions about the importance or uselessness of shopping. But how to behave in situations where the price of money needs to be explained to the child? Let's figure it out.

Why do you need it?Despite the universal "advancement", availability of the internet and other media, many parents today still do not think that children can not only be, but also need to talk about money, as well as how to handle them and how to earn. Until the child is fully provided by the parents, the child does not think about where the financial opportunities come from, but as soon as he enters into adulthood, the first problems appear. It is worth saying that financial problems that arise in adult life can sometimes come from childhood and be the result of parenting mistakes. As a result, a person won’t be able to run a successful business without proper financial education. A child must grow up with the understanding that money, like all other benefits, must be earned only by its own labor.

Optimal age for learning

Experts who are engaged in the issues of financial education of children, unanimously argue that it is necessary to teach a child to treat money correctly from the very age when he encounters them for the first time. As a rule, it is a preschool and early school period: 6-7 years. It is also worth noting that parents should not drag their children to finances, because with each year of growing up, getting the necessary information to the child and correcting his habits are becoming more and more difficult. At the age of 6-7 years kid has the first pocket money, he starts shopping on his own, he has the first relationship with money. So now is the time to give the child Basic financial knowledge that will help him form a picture of the world of finance will teach him how to manage money properly. However, if the child is over 6-7 years old, it will be a bit more difficult for the parents, because the child already has some experience, some are already formed e habits and habits. If parents do not give the child the necessary knowledge, he will receive them elsewhere, and it is unknown what the result will be and what non-standard situations the child will fall in.

What is worth doing?

In order instill knowledge of financial literacy, parents should approach this issue with a share of creativity and in no case insist. Suitable games and various educational activities. With the right approach, all the necessary knowledge will be learned by itself. There are a number of tools and techniques that can be useful:

• At a very early age, when the child still does not know how to count, for every success, for example, a new spoken or learned word, it can be encouraged. So the child will understand that to get the benefits and benefits, you need to work. It is important that the award was not assigned for the process of completing the task, but for the result itself. Never think that your children are small and do not understand something else. Teach children to earn and thrift from early childhood when they perceive it in the form of an interesting game.
• Use the game" to work ", offer your child to help you - fold the paper, transfer something, count it, search the Internet, organize it on a computer, teach your child to your business since childhood. Do not wait until he graduates from university. Then it will be late! And be sure to pay for his work, otherwise, he will learn to work, but not to learn how to earn and appreciate money. Tell him how and with what you can use your earnings wisely. Start a piggy bank.
• Try on clear examples to explain to the child that money can not only be earned or received but also lost. Including, in gambling.
• Encourage part-time work during the holidays and make sure that the child gives part of his income to the family and to charity.
• Do not be afraid to charge the child with the purchase. Send your child to the store more often, so that he can estimate the cost of goods and products and understand the real value of money. Offer a choice between 'meatball and toy', but hold back and don’t give meatball if the child chooses a game.
• Never impose on children a profession that they don’t like - they won’t succeed in it, it can only break them.

What influencers think?

Some specialists pay a lot of attention to the issues of proper and timely financial education of children from a very young age. For example, the portals of the Huffington Post and Business Insider, advise, among others, also adhere to the following strategies relating to the field of financial education:

• allow children to pay and spend, but make sure that they understand exactly why and how much their funds have decreased since the purchase;
• teach to save and encourage each earned or saved, and not the spent amount that the child put in the piggy bank;
• at an older age, it is possible for a child to open an account in a bank to which his earnings will be credited. Accounting for account transactions teenager should keep independently but under the supervision of parents. Do not forget to also explain that the child himself will have to pay the bank for servicing the account and cover other expenses;
• do not keep silent about loans, but dedicate the child to their main aspects, explaining that it is impossible to accumulate debts, and this is fraught with problems. The child must understand that a loan is not the best way out of the situation, and funds will have to be returned sooner or later. In addition, try to use your credit card as little as possible;
• in order not to turn the child into an impulsive buyer, when going to the store, try not to move away from the list and not buy what your heart desires at this particular moment;
• make purchases deliberately or only after careful analysis of prices, offers and the market - your children will begin to do the same;
• do not give in to the persuasions of a child to buy a thing or a toy just because the parents made the same gift to his friend. Learn to control yourself and tell the children about it;
• involve children in the process of planning a family budget, explain to them all the nuances.

Finally, it should be said that the financial education of children of any age is not an easy task. Parents should be told and taught by example or to seek help from specialized publications or games that can intelligibly explain how to properly relate to material goods and accumulate them. Such activities will help to form the correct perception of the younger generation and protect them from serious problems in adult life.