Money Makes the World Go Round

Children understand from a very early age that money can help them get things they want. It is up to teachers, parents and other adults to help them understand money.

Children of all ages are fascinated by money. They learn quickly that handing over coins or paper bills will get them food, drink or toys. But children don't know how to use and think about money responsibly unless parents and teachers help them. It can be confusing for children to understand how money works, especially in today's "buy now, pay later" consumer world. How do we raise a generation of children who understand and appreciate money? It isn't easy, but it can be done!

The opportunities for learning about money are all around us. Very young children can play with toy money and pretend to use it at a play grocery store or other pretend store. Early elementary school children do not need to become familiar with the concept of credit yet. They are concrete thinkers and need to learn money basics, including:

• What coins and bills look like.
• What a bank is and how people use banks.
• How to save money for the future.
• How to count money.
• How to determine if they have enough money to buy a particular item.
• How to earn money, through chores or jobs. (Although children should always have certain chores or jobs that they do because it's expected, not because they will earn money for them.)

Once children are older, they can start to learn about more complex money ideas, like credit. As with all other areas, the more knowledge children are armed with, the better able they will be to make decisions. Older elementary children will start to understand that people buy things that cost a lot of money and pay for them a little bit at a time, and that this is called buying on credit. It is important for these children to understand that this doesn't mean people get things for "free," and that not paying means people will lose the things they bought.

Money is an important concept for children to learn, and it can be confusing in today's world. The best way to help children learn about money is to help them use, save and interact with money, and to help them understand that money is a tool that needs to be used responsibly.