Lately I have speaking about the need for parents to be financial mentors to their children. I have also been bringing attention to some practical tools that can be used for these purposes, such a piggy bank and children's book that engages the imaginations and curiosity of young children and teach them that money can be used for saving, investing and charitable giving, as well as for buying things they want.
Parents can also teach their children about wise money management the minute they begin to provide an allowance. They can do this by having their children earn their allowances.
When children earn their allowances through carrying out useful family and community chores, they learn that money is related to work and that the work they do is valuable.
Having children earn their allowances involves devising a system where they earn a portion of their allowance each day by completing chores, and having a chart to keep track of chores and earnings.
A great tool for doing this is called
It's Only a Dollar...Until You Add To It. This helpful educational package includes an attractive allowance chart that is to be displayed in a prominent location, and instructions on how to determine a daily allowance amount. It also contains numerous examples of daily chores . The chores can be affixed to the chart, and so can dollar signs and happy faces to show success.
To view and learn more about the It's Only a Dollar...Until You Add To It package and chart, click here.
The approach that is used in this It's Only a Dollar tool is very similar to the incentive systems that are taught in such parenting skill-building programs as Confident Parenting, Effective Black Parenting and Los Ninos Bien Educados. Those programs teach parents how to use special incentives to instill values of responsibility and hard work. The It's Only a Dollar tool adds on the benefit of teaching financial literacy at the same time.
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