Teaching Kids Personal Finance with Love
Learning is a life long journey. We learn everyday and would stop learning when our life "liquidity is rug pulled". Alot of things would actually be factored when considering catalysts for learning. Broadly, the general classification will fall under the nature and nuture factor.
The angle I will be sharing, based on Personal finance, is the nuture factor. When we were kids, as children, we have come to learn and build our financial lifestyle and respond to financial decisions from alot of realities we have been exposed to right from our families. These includes our parents' spending habits, the way they run their businesses, their budgeting plan, their act of charity, their tastes for luxury etc. Every financial decision parents make in the family would be imprinted on their children if left unchecked.
So, you can basically imagine how a child that was raised with a silver spoon and wasn't raised to learn how to save to get little stuffs for themselves will find it hard to build a saving culture for himself. On the other hand, if a child that was practically taught how to save or owning a financial asset and shown how the value of these asset appreciates and depreciates, same child would have a better financial acumen than their opposite counterparts.
To support my views, most authors of financial books always reference that Warren Buffet bought his first stock at the age of 11. I believe his father, Howard Buffet, a businessman and investor, must have taught him basic principles of personal finance. I won't be mistaken to say that Donald Trump must have learnt his business strategies from his father. My point here is, there are better chances for children to become financially successful if they had early lessons and parental guidance on financial principles.
However, how do parents then instill these principles in their children without actually causing them grievances. Aristotle's theory of "tabula rasa" is the foundation. These kids have no innate knowledge of these principles. Parents have to write them on their slates(kids) so that they can walk with them. I also believe in practical learning than theories— Learning by Experience. This is because generally, our experiences sticks longer in our mind and we retain the lessons we learn from experience.
This is how you can teach a child to avoid casual borrowing and having a bad debt life: I will adopt this example because unrepaid debts will always put one into shame and property seizure. Offer the kid a loan of $400 to have his birthday party or any celebration with his favourite friends. Take him to the supermarket to get everything he needs for the party. On the day of the party, stop everyone, and ask him to give you back the loan, kids dont have money for sure (heheheh), pack up all the stuff they bought and ask tell him that he can get them back when he pays up. Wicked right? That's how banks treated their customers when they can't pay up their debt. This may not be a perfect example but the point here is it gives him the picture of the result of borrowing for unproductive ventures.
Another instance is taking a kid to a game store. Offer him to play simulation games or virtual reality games (they cost pretty much than every other games) say it cost $10 per game. Then guve him another offer that you'd double every 50 cent per day and give him the total by the end of the month. His excitement would make him go for the game. Then show him the total amount of money he could have gotten if he chose to get 50 cent doubling everyday ( show him the amount he has lost using a compounding calculator).
Lessons like these may sound harsh but doing it with love and a good purpose will make the kid understand it is the reality he would face in life. Try and imagine what your life would have become if you have learnt what you knew now some years back when you were much young.