Dubai: When it comes to making your child understand the importance of money and all about its fair use, although it has always been a popular trend among parents - it's not one that has always been easy to accomplish.
While teaching them the benefits of budgeting helps them face and be ready for money matters in the future, engaging kids and teenagers now to have control over expenses by setting accurate saving goals can help parents save as well.
Teaching kids about money, small savings, thoughtful spending and helping them maintain disciplined financial habits, will give the children a crucial sense of individualism, financial planners reiterate. The knowledge of money and savings provides kids with the confidence to deal and understand financial problems, if any arise at home.
Some parents hesitate before making their children discuss the topic of money and how to become financially savvy, expecting the schools to teach children about managing their personal finances. Although in recent years several schools in the UAE have been enforcing concepts of finances and economics at a young age, schools also expect certain practical budgeting steps to be initiated at home.
In making or trying to make your kids aware of the savings or allowance spent by them, matter experts say you have to make them stick to the fundamentals: they are solely in charge of the money being provided to them, while also letting them be involved as a participant and reviewing your family budget with them.
What experts say: 12 tips to teach children the benefits of handling money properly
1. Keep in mind that if parents are spending carefully according to their family's needs, the same will be understood by their children and would simply work on both their budgets and its further planning.
2. Making children understand the importance of a job, and that by working, how they get paid. In other words, ensure your child understand the accountability relationship of money to work.
3. Take your kids to the banks or the ATMs to let them learn how you take out money from the savings account and explain it to them while doing it.
4. Allow your little ones to assist you in shopping or while buying something valuable and let them handle the budget you give to them. Review together the things that are require - distinguishing between wants and needs - and the budget limit available.
5. The child’s participation in the budget planning of the family would help them know where to lessen on the expenses like switching off lights or their computers when not in use, to save electricity.
6. Until your child’s teenage years, start giving them small amounts of Dh10, or Dh20 to keep with them as their own, as soon they understand that money can buy things.
7. Encourage them to save their money which is provided to them in glass jars. Moreover, there's also the option of making use of children accounts that are now available in some banks to help to manage their money safely.
8. For little kids, it is a good idea if parents play with them business-related or monopoly games, as it helps create a sense within kids to arrange and prioritise their money through playing such games.
9. Parents can also make kids interact through websites which help in savings and making monthly budget plans like mobile applications that help track how money is spent.
10. Make budget plans together with short-long terms goals and saving plans (for older kids) and don’t forget to establish limits – if you are giving your children debit cards, teach them where to use and when to use if necessary.
11. Deciding budget plans help your kids prioritise their wants and needs via making appropriate use of money, whether in cash or cards (for older kids).
12. Another good option is to encourage your children, if they are older, to take up a part-time job at the right time to make them understand the real value of how money is earned, which helps them to save money for the future.
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