Teaching your children about money is important. It’s something they don’t learn about in school, yet it is something that they will need to deal with throughout their entire lives. Knowing when the right time is to start teaching kids about money matters can be difficult. Nevertheless, it is definitely a case of the sooner the better, and here are a number of different reasons why you should teach your children about saving sooner.
4 Reasons to teach your children about saving NOW
Young children must understand delayed gratification
According to research that was carried out at the University of Kansas, children as young as five-years-old can comprehend the idea of saving. In this study, children were given the option of a piece of candy now or they could have two pieces of candy if they waited until later. Most of the children realised that waiting would benefit them in the long run. This is something you can help your child to grasp from a young age with savings accounts for kids. This will help your child to understand that it takes time and hard work to get everything we want in life. Nothing is handed on a plate.
Children’s financial habits form from as young as seven-years-old
Another reason why you should introduce your child to the concept of saving as soon as possible is that they will have already formed core behaviors by the age of seven-years-old that they will take into their adulthood. Children at that age realize the value of money. They know what money can be exchanged for in terms of the outcome and they know how to count it too, and so it is not hard to see how financial habits can develop from this stage.
Children still need your guidance
Despite the former point, there is little denying that children are going to need guidance along the way. This is especially the case when it comes to distinguishing between their wants and needs and in terms of understanding some of the more complicated monetary concepts. Simply giving kids an allowance will not teach them wise spending habits. They need to practice budgeting and saving in order to form these.
Ensure financial success later in life
Last but not least, early learning regarding sound financial habits will ensure that children achieve financial success later in their life. This is something that was proven via a Journal of Consumer Affairs study. This study concluded that early financial education benefited people later in life as adults.
As you can see, there are many different reasons why you should start to teach your children about money sooner rather than later. Not only do children need to grasp the concept of delayed gratification but their financial habits form from as young as seven-years-old.
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