Teach Your Children About Money Management by Playing Shopkeeper
Posted by Jeff Bogle in Personal Finance |Surprise! Learning is Easier When You’re Having Fun
Many of the best lessons in life are learned as a child, while having fun. It’s why we could always memorize lyrics to our favorite songs with ease but struggled mightily with the periodic table in science class.
Do you want to teach your young kids about budgeting and making sound fiscal decisions? Minimize the spreadsheets and play shopkeeper.
It’s important to teach kids about the value of money, not just what you can do with it, but that you must also make choices about how to wisely use what you’ve got. When I play store with my daughters, I see that it helps them prioritize and begin thinking about the consequences of foolish spending. That’s right — I dish out my best financial decision-making assignments surrounded by picture books, fancy shoes, clothes, and feather boas.
Despite the volume of stuff in their toy chest, I strive to instill in my 6-year old and her nearly-3-year old sister an understanding that you cannot have it all. There is, after all, a finite amount of money most of us have at any given moment (no, Capital One, that was not an invitation to begin soliciting my children about the joys of revolving debt; credit cards and borrowing discussions are intentionally being saved for when they’re a tad older — thank you very much).
So, I set up an elaborate pretend toy store — books, necklaces, tutus, plush snuggle friends, I sell it all! Then, I give my daughters some cash and role-play through different situations. During one trip through my toy Mecca, they need to buy birthday gifts for family members. Another visit is spent shopping for something fun for themselves. Either way, they have to ask how much each item costs and decide if they have enough or if they have to come back after saving up a little longer. Sometimes, instead of yet another stuffed animal, they’ll opt to hold onto some of their dollars to use at Dad’s fictional ice-cream shop – because that’s important too, from time to time!
Real Impact From Fun Lessons
These lessons have yielded interesting real-life results. When my oldest gal needed a pillow and blanket for school, she had a choice to make. The first pillow she picked, she adored. It cost $16. There was another, just-as-cool pillow on sale for $8. She had a firm $15-$20 budget, which she knew going into the store. If she selected the cheaper pillow, there was a very comfy matching blanket she could afford, also on sale for $8. If she went with the pricier one, her old blanket would be accompanying her to school. The choice was hers, and hers alone. She ended up walking into her 1st day of kindergarten with a crisp new pillow and blanket set.
Playing store is one of my girls’ all-time favorite games. I truly believe it’s one of the reasons they rarely ever whine for things when we shop together. After all, they know what it’s like to be short some coin, thanks to shopping in our own living room.
Do you have your own tips and activities you engage with your children to teach them about money management? Feel free to share.
photo credit: tudy
7 Comments to “Teach Your Children About Money Management by Playing Shopkeeper”
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May 4th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
At some moment out of everyday the conversation between my three year old and I goes something like this….he says,” I want that.” I say,”Ooo, that’s a good idea let me put it on your list” and then I dramatically take out my notebook and write it down. I ask for details about size and quantity and ask him to read off the price if he can. For some reason this completely works for us. He doesn’t throw that fit that can sometimes happen when I just say “not today honey”.
About once or twice a week while we are waiting for his older siblings to get out of music lessons or sports practice we look through this notebook full of ideas, drawings AND, of course, the I WANT list.
I would say that quite often he either can’t remember what we wrote down or, when we prioritize the list, he sees that he doesn’t actually WANT the item.
Then I point out , “thank goodness that we didn’t waste our money on that…now we save up for….”
You get the idea!!
Just thought I’d share.
Your ideas are always such good ones!
Thanks,
annie
May 4th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Annie, that is absolutely fantastic! If my two ever begin to whine or come down with a case of the ‘I wants’, I’m totally stealing your idea. Thanks for sharing.
May 5th, 2010 at 1:18 am
Annie, you’re a genius! Now if we could only get some ADULTS to adopt your system — for themselves.
May 6th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Excellent post. As the father of a 6-year old girl of my own, I have worked to instill some financial basics in her early on. While I am a proponent of kids being kids and not spending too much time thinking about money (they have the rest of their lives for that), I do agree with the idea that some basics need to be taught.
It’s just great to see the lightbulb go on, where they show you that they are learning things.
I like the example of playing “store”, I might try that one sometime.
May 10th, 2010 at 6:34 am
What a briliant idea. It’s so so critical that children learn about this stuff.
Here in the UK the Government announced back in January that money management lessons were to become compulsory for children from 5 – 16 as part of the National Curriculum. I was so, so over the moon about that because it’s severely lacking right now.
In fact, I’m convinced that if we started that now, that this generation, in twenty to thirty years time, would have far less debt than our current generation.
However, the Government pulled a U Turn on this a few weeks ago – a bitter blow for common sense!!!
May 11th, 2010 at 8:58 am
I wish i was taught more about cash at a young age… Sadly it took years of learning on my own.
Giving older kids chores for pocket money also helps immensely, I think.
June 7th, 2011 at 10:52 am
It really comes down to communicating with your kids early and expressing the right values when it comes to handling money. Of course you can be cute about it!