If you, as a parent, ask your child to clean or do some other chore at home without bribing them with something in return, you end up with a lot of no’s and shaking heads in disapproval. But you can use this summer to teach your child valuable lessons about money, and there are plenty of ways of doing so.
Children need to understand the concept of handling money and paying with a debit card. How often has your child seen you purchase multiple items at some grocery shop and pay by card? That act of yours raises a lot of questions in your kid’s brain. And now is the perfect time to clear those questions. Use this time to teach your child the value of money, and that money goes into a virtual ‘piggy bank’. Once your child understands that, you can give your child their first debit card to teach them about spending wisely.
Here are some activities around the house you can involve children in to teach them the value and importance of money.
Teaching how money is earned
Household chores
Divide a few chores such as cleaning or washing dishes amongst your children and then reward them by paying for every task accomplished. It will not only encourage your child to help you with the work but will also help them understand the importance of hard work in earning money.
Gardening
Plant a few vegetables in your garden and tell your kids to tend to them. It will teach them about farming and develop their green thumb. The hard work that they put in and the reward they receive from you will help them understand the value of money and feel a sense of pride in the fruits of their labour.
Spending Wisely
Once you indulge in the chores as mentioned above and pay the reward in the form of a weekly allowance, make sure to tell your child to use their money wisely. Before spending on anything unnecessary, your child will think hard about all the hard work that has gone into earning their allowance. In addition to this, it will help your child learn the importance and value of money in their later life in school years, in their teens, and so forth.
Summer Activities
If your child asks you about going to the beach or buying ice cream or a hot dog, let them use their own money. It will make them understand the concept of spending money wisely, which is sure to help them in the latter part of their life. Even a lot of adults find it difficult to moderate their credit card spending, and using a debit card for kids can impart vital understanding.
The SpendSafe platform makes it easy to monitor how much is in your child’s ‘bank account’ and how they have earned it. Debit cards for kids are an excellent way of teaching your child money lessons as well as money management. Once they get used to handling payments by card (with the necessary protections a kid’s debit card comes with), they will be far more prudent with their credit later in life – unlike so many adults.
