Determining the Right Age for Introducing Children to Financial Concepts and Money Management Skills.

in Hive Naija6 months ago
Money has a symbolic power which may exert both positive and negative effects on children’s behavior. It could influence them both in negative and positive ways.

The right age for children to be exposed to money can vary depending on individual circumstances and their developmental readiness.

As children grow older, as early as 3 years old they can start learning about saving, budgeting, and the value of money in more terms. This could involve giving them a small allowance or involving them in discussions about budgeting and different money habits.

Both in direct and subtle ways, children are molded by the family into which they are born. Growing up, their assumptions about what is right and wrong often reflect the beliefs, values of their family . Most take for granted their family’s ways, and they carry into adulthood numerous attitudes and behaviors they acquired during their childhood days. Children are actually people that do emulate what they are taught or what they learnt from their parents. If the parents influence them with the attitude of saving and how to manage money from a very young age they would surely get used to that.

They are still some parents nowadays, who still spend money on unmaterialistic things and things that do no have any importance a child born into this kind of family might emulate such behaviour and start behaving in such manner. There are even some parents that just believe in giving money to their children and not paying attention to them from which they later spend the money on alcohol, weeds and drugs and they become drug addicts.

If a child isn't exposed to the act of saving as early as 6-10 years old they might find it hard to know how to spend money wisely and efficiently when they become teenagers.

By the time children reach their teens, they can begin to understand more complex financial concepts such as earning money through working, making savings goals, and differentiating between needs and wants.

For instance, I have seen some of my friends collect weekly allowance on Monday and go broke on Wednesday. They usually spend money on unimportant things and end up looking for ways to borrow money to be able to feed for the remaining days of the week.

Exposing children to money at very early age sometimes affects their mentality when they can afford to get what they want for their age and also all what they need without any difficulty.

I believe when children get exposed to much money at a very early age they tend to become spoilt and wayward especially if they are the only children and they are exposed to money and what they need by their parents .

I remember when I was a young teenager and a little spoilt, the important things to me was to have nice things, buy nice clothes, spend time with my friends and not save. This habit of mine changed only when I got to the university and I was faced with some challenges and had to learn how to manage money and spend wisely. I was always fund of getting all what I wanted,eating all what I wanted that I never felt the need to save some money aside for the future. There have been times I was given about 100$ for doing a work and I just literally spent the money recklessly and couldn't even make an account of how I spent all the money.

Nowadays, I have to work to get what I wanted or buy what I needed . I don't even eat more than once these days anymore as I have to manage the money I am been given for it to sustain me throughout the week.

Some parents usually give children money worth more than their age just imagine giving a child of 10 years old as much as 70$ as weekly allowance . Even after been taught the various money habits they can still get influenced by their friends and spend the money recklessly and they can sometimes get entitled and not feel the need to work and hustle for money since they have all what they want at the tip of their fingers.

From my own perspective, children should be taught how to save and value money right from when they clock 6 , but should only be exposed or have access to much money when they become adults which is 18 years of age by this time, they would have more knowledge about money not just from their parents but from their various schools as well.

Thanks for reading.

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Early exposure of a child to money saving helps alot to inculcate that into them.

Thanks for sharing this great post with us

Yeah i appericiate for your comment as well boss.

 6 months ago  

In essence, expose your children early to money. We should educate them on how to value and invest money. I also feel this is important. Maybe why this generation is currently struggling is because no one taught our parents and their parents and the ones before that.

Yeah you are definitely right about your take > Maybe why this

generation is currently struggling is because no one taught our parents and their parents and the ones before that. Thanks for your comment.

Giving children so much money at their tender age isn't healthy due to some reasons u pointed out here
It's advisable they learn the value of money and savings earlier and then of age they can learn the rest
Thanks for sharing

You are highly welcome ma