dadsarerad's picture

Teaching Kids the Value of Money

So I ran across this video ( the other day and got to thinking about how to come up with ways to teach my 2.5 yrs old about money. I started with a piggy bank and showing her how to put the money in it. Then thought about potentially incentivizing her if she went potty or did something good. Is that the right mindset or could it do more harm down the road?

mayamay's picture

The problem with incentives is that it takes away the focus from the inherent reward.

Things that are just normal behavior should not be associated with an incentive--tidying up after one's self, being polite, normal developmental things like potty training, routine cleaning/helping with meals in the home. I am opposed to rewarding children for good grades. We do celebrate good effort, but some children are academically gifted, so for them straight A's don't require effort. At any rate, we just have a special meal or other fun activity to celebrate good effort.

Sometime before age 8 kids should be getting money to manage--whether an allowance or earning money for extra chores--cleaning the fridge or the car, cleaning the bathroom fixtures, yardwork.

hgav's picture

I think in this no one child can understand the value of money.It depends on the nature of child whether he can understand or not