Here are a few fun ideas for teaching your kids how to look after the pounds and pennies.

1. Think about getting your kids a piggy bank. It seems very simple, but letting your kids save up their pocket money and other ‘income’ and see it grow from week to week can teach them valuable lessons about saving up for more expensive items (like a brand new pair of trainers, or the latest toy), rather than spending it all in one go. Some piggy banks come with music, flashing lights – or even ‘donate’ and ‘invest’ compartments, which could help your kids think about the importance of giving to charity, or putting money into a fund for when they’re older.1
2. Why not teach your kids to recognise different types of coins and notes? You could play a game of matching pairs to help them distinguish between 20 pence and 50 pence pieces, or five and ten pound notes. You could also make ‘coin rubbings’ using white paper and wax crayons to make imprints of the coins, helping your kids to identify the different values along the way.2
3. Consider playing ‘shop’ to help teach your little ones the value of money and what they could actually buy with it in ‘real life’. Give your child a ‘budget’ and let them go round ‘buying’ items, guiding them along the way about what they can afford and what choices give value for money. This can help teach, at a young age, the importance of budgeting and not getting into debt – as they can only spend the amount they have.
4. Give your children an allowance. Whether it’s every week, or on a monthly basis, give your kids regular pocket money and increase the amount as they get older. You could ‘top this up’ in return for your children doing jobs around the house, such as doing the washing-up or cleaning the car, which in turn will help to teach them about the importance of hard work and its financial returns.

Sources:

1. http://www.msgen.com/assembled/money_savvy_pig.html
2. http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Put_Your_Money_Where_Your_Math/
3. UK debt and budgeting information
4. US debt and budgeting information

1. What do you do to help teach your kids about money?