As parents, we usually want The Best for our children and the items we wish we had, during our childhood, are loving bestowed upon our children.
Unfortunately, often we translate the best as being "More, more, more" of everything. And while this may feel wonderful to us, afterall who doesn't love giving presents, a recent article in The Canadian Press posits, "Are we raising a generation of spenders?"
The article states that according to a back-to-school survey by Capital One Financial Corp., "…80 per cent of parents viewed themselves as positive money role models, but only 19 per cent had discussed budgeting with their teens. While 48 per cent talked with their kids about the difference between 'need' and 'wants,' 36 per cent had not discussed finances at all.
So, what's a parent to do? Stephen Epstein, founded DollarCamp, a company that gives "financial survival training" to families, out of his unfortunate early experiences with money. By the time Epstein was an undergrad at the University of Southern California, he had a credit card debt of $4,000. He states, "Money wasn't real to me...I saw all my friends treat credit cards like they were free money."
Through DollarCamp, Epstein talks to teens, tweens and their parents offering financial advice. When dealing with children and money, Epstein recommends you avoid the following:
To read more tips and ways to avoid raising big spenders, visit The Canadian Press .
What do you teach your children about money? And how early do you think you one should start discussing spending habits with your children?
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
Great topic. Sadly, I am a horrible role model for my kids on this since I often tend to overlook the need vs. want question. But I'm trying to get better as my kids (now ages 2 1/2 and 11 months old) get older. Thankfully, my older one hasn't yet gotten to the stage where he wants everything. As a matter of fact, he puts things back on store shelves if he doesn't want them or if I tell him to do so. However, I have always thought I would teach them to appreciate what they have by teaching them about less fortunate kids in other parts of the world and in our own backyard, through volunteering and donating.
view r8ermom's profile
I've known some parents who are very intentional about teaching money management skills to kids, and I hope that I can figure out how to do that when my kids are old enough to grasp the concept. Our friends do things like give their kids (at an early age) a monthly clothing budget, and help them figure out where to shop and what to buy so they stay within the limit. Takes some work, but now their teens realize that they get a lot more for their money when they go to Target and Goodwill. Someone else we know has their kids go through and pick out toys to give to charity before every gift-giving holiday. They become aware of less-fortunate kids that way, and realize that there are limits on the amount of stuff on can/should have.
view AmberM's profile