How to teach a teenager to manage money
As the child ages, so do their expenses. If just recently ice cream was enough for your son or daughter to be completely happy, now you won't be able to get off so easily. You can often hear from the older generation that children are completely unable to manage money and compare their parents’ incomes with their “wants." Of course, this is not the fault of the child, but of the parents who did not give him the necessary skills to manage their finances. As a result, we get an adult spender person.
In wealthy families, it is common to replace parental attention with money. Thus, parents "pay off" from their child, indulging any of his whims. When a child growing up in such conditions becomes an adult, he either falls into complete apathy (does not strive to earn money because of the habit that he gets money just like that, without effort), or panics because of the desire “everything at once ".
That is why it is so important to teach a child a competent attitude towards money. Unfortunately, there is no single solution “to teach a child to manage money”. However, there are a few basic rules that will help you achieve this goal.
Rejection is not a punishment
When a child is between the ages of 3 and 5, he just needs to be periodically denied his “buy” with the words “no money”, “money needs to be earned”, “you need to save a little”. Psychologists say that this is the only way a baby gets used to it from an early age that money does not fall from the sky.
Children who grew up in wealthy families and got everything at the snap of their fingers often lose interest in life due to a lack of desire. With your refusals, you will teach the child to understand that in order for his desire to be fulfilled, something needs to be done.
Of course, children need to be pampered. But from time to time they also need to be denied something.
Shop visit
From the age of 6, take your child with you to the store. Moreover, he should not just stand next to his mother, he himself must make purchases. To begin with, give him some money and tell him that he must buy bread, and for change he can take whatever he wants. If in the end he did not have enough money for bread, have a friendly talk with him about the need to distribute the money received more competently.
Give kids pocket money
Many parents are concerned about the age at which they can give pocket money to their children. Experts say that up to 6-7 years old children do not perceive money as a universal equivalent. They are more interested in exchanging toys.
When the child goes to the first grade, it is recommended to start introducing pocket money. So he will not only feel more complete, but will also begin to learn how to manage them.
It is advisable for older students to give out a certain amount, which is intended not only for meals in the school cafeteria, but also for entertainment. It can be some fixed amount (consider that this is his salary).
Don't go overboard with control
Many parents tend to go from one extreme to another – either not controlling what their child spends money on at all, or asking for every penny spent.
Find the golden mean. Ask about his waste in a friendly dialogue.
Children's earnings are welcome
In the West, it is common for children to earn extra money, starting from the first grade (selling cookies, cleaning snow, etc.). Adolescents work outside school hours on a mandatory basis (babysitting, handing out leaflets). For many of our compatriots, such a position of parents may be incomprehensible. But in fact, such a part-time job teaches children from a young age a simple truth – do you want money? Earn.