Mark Kennedy: My 9-year-old son asked for money, not gifts, for his birthday. As a result, he is sitting on a neat little pile of bills. He warmed my heart by announcing one day that he was saving to buy his 4-year-old brother an electric car.
I can tell that this birthday windfall, combined with third-grade math, has made him think more about money. He recently asked me how much money is in his college savings account, for example.
I welcome these discussions. I think introducing kids to money realities earlier in life helps them later on. Maybe one of the benefits of the Great Recession is the next generation of children will be a bit more money savvy.
Karen Nazor Hill: I agree, Mark. Today’s economy is affecting children as well as adults. My parents were raised during the Great Depression and learned the value of a dollar. My dad sold newspapers throughout his childhood to help supplement the family’s income. My mother labored on her family’s small farm to help keep food on the table during the winter months. The value of hard work stuck with them throughout life and to this day, my mother, nearly 82 (my father died in 2008) doesn’t waste a dime.
It’s not hard, really, to teach your children the value of money if you don’t have a lot of money. I’ve always been very middle class. If I want something, I have to save for it. In early spring 1992, my children asked for a trampoline. They knew we couldn’t afford one, so they saved their money and five months later they bought it. They worked hard (doing odd jobs, babysitting, etc.), to save the money, including tax. I watched them as they enthusiastically added to their treasury, keeping an ongoing record of how much they have and how much more they needed. It made me very proud.