Children and money: when, how much and how

Sooner or later, there comes a time when parents begin to think about the age at which they can give money to a child. On the one hand, parents can buy everything a baby needs on their own. With another –  psychologists say that with pocket money, a child learns to be independent, to plan expenses and needs. As you can see, there is a logical explanation for each side. Let's talk in more detail about pocket money and find out whether it is worth giving it to a child at all.

When is it better to give money to children

The relationship between money and children is often discussed not only by parents, but also by economists. Experts unanimously argue that excellent grades in economics in school are not a guarantee of financial literacy in the future. You need to teach children how to use money from childhood. The best "simulator" that will help you manage your finances correctly in the future is pocket money.

Psychologists recommend that parents teach their children to money at the age of 5-6 years. For example, you can buy a piggy bank for a kid and suggest that coins are being collected in it, and after a certain amount has accumulated, you can buy a typewriter / toy that the child dreamed of.

To stimulate the child to accumulate money, you can agree that when saving, for example, 100 rubles, the parents will add another 50 rubles from themselves.

As they grow older, the child has a need for regular spending on travel, meals at school, etc. Accordingly, parental funding should increase. At the same time, it is recommended to give the child more money, but less often. Of course, you need to calculate in advance how much money the child needs for travel and food, adding a small amount to the child's whim.

Before giving the child the first pocket money, parents should tell the child how to use it. Of course, everyone knows that you can buy something for these wonderful pieces of paper. But, as practice shows, not all children remember that they need to pick up the change. It is important to emphasize that steal, that is, it is absolutely impossible to take money without permission. You also need to pay attention to the correctness of storing money: they should not lie all over the house, for this there is a wallet and a piggy bank.

How much money can you give to children

Parents who are faced with the problem of pocket money for schoolchildren often do not know how much money should be given to their child. Of course, it all depends on the financial situation of the family. There will always be children who can spend 500 rubles in one day, and for whom this amount is a budget for a week. You can focus only on the family budget and the needs of a particular child.

It is recommended to calculate the amount individually, since some parents give out pocket money only for ice cream and other sweets, while others take into account school expenses, meals, purchase of office supplies, spending on vacations, etc.

In cases where the family budget does not allow allocating a certain amount for the child every week, you still need to find an opportunity to give the child at least some symbolic money, for example, on payday.

How to instill financial literacy in your child

The financial literacy of the child in the future depends on what attitudes the parents give. Children who know how to manage money correctly build successful careers and reach financial heights. The main task of parents – tell and show with examples how to spend money wisely and refuse rash and unnecessary purchases. Quite often, kids, having received their first pocket money, buy toys or other things that, after a few hours, become uninteresting to them. In such cases, parents should tell their child how difficult it is to make money.

Of course, children learn financial literacy lessons best through specific examples. For example, if a child has spent the money allocated to him for a specific period ahead of time, he should not give it again before the specified time. That is, if there was an agreement that parents give out pocket money exclusively on Sunday, then it is not worth giving it on Saturday. Of course, it will be difficult for a child to endure several days without spending, but in the future it will be more reasonable to distribute his finances and monitor their distribution for the entire period.

Parents should take seriously teaching their child financial literacy as a child. It is necessary to give the child the opportunity to choose: buy something, or save up for another thing. Over time, under the control of the parents, the child will begin to understand how he will better manage the money and will spend it wisely.