How to Make your Child Money Smart? | Financial Literacy | Singapore

Education | Lifestyle

How parents can make children ‘Money Smart’?

If you think everything can be taught in the school including financial prudence, you may be mistaken. A child takes the first lesson at home from his parents. You want your child to understand the value of money from an early age, you must become his first teacher. Teach him about money, currency, savings, investing and above all earning.

Though Singapore’s Ministry of Education promotes financial literacy among students through infusing key concepts in the curriculum. Now the POSB Smart Buddy programme in primary schools will use wearable technology to teach students how to save and spend, with features such as transaction histories and savings goals. POSB Smart Buddy is the world’s first in-school savings and payments wearable on your child’s wrist. It lets your child tap to pay in school and at selected merchants, check on balances, and track fitness levels. However, students need more than just lessons at school.

Do Your Bit

However, parents need to take command in their hands to make their children ‘Money Smart’. They should give them a Jar where they can drop some money periodically and let them watch it grow. When children ask for something, parents should ask them to remove money from that jar so that they know how money is getting used.

Right attitudes and real values are needed while imparting financial literacy to your children like why should you save, how, and what will happen if you don’t. So that when children grow up, they understand why it important to save. Tell them it is important so that you can have a comfortable lifestyle for yourself, protect yourselves in an emergency, and live peacefully.

Quote Wall Street Journal: “It’s critical to allow children to make some mistakes with their money. Rather than criticising their children, parents can turn these missteps into teachable moments and give them the confidence needed to run their adult lives.”

To Conclude

While children are finishing their primary school, parents can open a bank account to deposit their money. Also, give them fixed amounts rather than giving them more whenever they need money. Parents can help them learn to make trade-offs, stretch their money and differentiate needs from wants.

When children start secondary school, parents can help them understand opportunity costs by letting them choose between buying items such as a game, clothes or shoes. Doing comparison shopping, reading price labels when the family shops at the store and comparing costs per unit can help them understand money better too.

You are using financial planning apps for yourself, teach your children also to use child-focused apps which help children to learn financial skills.

This way your child would be better equipped to handle money better and will not squander it when he starts earning.


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