Teaching your child how to handle money: here's how to approach it

Je kind leren omgaan met geld: zo pak je dat aan

Perhaps you and your partner have discussed it before, or maybe you haven't thought about it yet, but financial education for children is incredibly important. The younger you teach your child to handle money, the smaller the chance they'll face financial problems later on. But at what age do you start? And what's the best approach? You'll find out here.

 

The Importance of Financial Education

Learning to manage spending, saving, and borrowing money is something we don't often talk about at home or at school. However, financial education is important for children. In fact, if you never learned from your parents how to handle money, you're more likely to encounter payment problems or struggle to make ends meet later on. Children who learn about money can save more easily and manage their money responsibly.

Managing money starts with the basics. You can incorporate this into parenting in a playful way. Here are a few lessons you can teach your children at an early age:

  • Working with a budget for a certain period of time.
  • Money spent is not easily recovered.
  • How to save money.
  • How a bank account works, and how to manage it.

 

The Right Age to Start Financial Education

So, you can start financial education early. But at what age? Generally, it starts around five years old. Children learn about money and concepts like saving. It doesn't have to be pocket money right away; instead, show them how to pay at the supermarket or discuss money together. Another idea to introduce children to money at a young age is by playing 'store' at home. This way, they learn that products have different prices and how to work with a budget.

 

About Pocket Money and Saving

A next step in financial education is recognizing different coins and banknotes. This is also a good age to start with a small amount for pocket money. Your child can then learn about the value of money and how to manage a budget for a week or a month, for example. How much you give and whether you give it weekly or monthly is up to you. You can increase this amount as your child gets older. However, it's important to give them new responsibilities along with this. For example, buying a present for a friend or saving together for a more expensive item.

 

Tips for Teaching Children to Handle Money Better

Raising children is a complex task for any parent. Teaching your child to handle money, in particular, can sometimes feel unfamiliar. Therefore, we have a few tips to make this a lot easier:

  • Agree with your child on when they'll receive their pocket money.
  • And how long they should make it last.
  • If you'd rather not have your child spend all their money on sweets, discuss this together.
  • Set a savings goal together, and remind your child of it occasionally.
  • Also, teach your child about borrowing money and the consequences of doing so.