Blog ❯ How To Use Edutainment Content to Teach Financial Literacy to Kids
How To Use Edutainment Content to Teach Financial Literacy to Kids
According to recent research, a lot of the habits we have around money are set by age 7 and solidified by age 9, so it’s important to start teaching kids about money while they’re young. A survey of 15-year-olds in the United States found that 18 percent of respondents did not learn fundamental financial skills that are often applied in everyday situations, such as building a simple budget, comparison shopping, and understanding an invoice.
In today’s world, it is essential that we ensure that kids grow up with an understanding of these things. While they’re young, you can teach them about topics like planning ahead, budgeting, delayed gratification and returning borrowed items. And once they’ve mastered that, you can move onto more complex topics like credit card use, interest rates and investing. Basically, it’s important to give them a solid foundation of understanding to help them succeed in the future!
How do you promote positive money habits for kids?
Of course the top tip here is to start talking to kids about money as early as possible, and real life experiences are key here. Kids are much less likely to take in information if it’s presented in a formal setting than they are if you create realistic opportunities for them to learn about money and practice using it.
Five-year-olds aren’t going to be masters in the stock market, but there are lifelong benefits to starting financial literacy early on. Studies have shown that kids who are taught about money while they’re young are better at saving, earning, and managing debt. They also generally have a healthier relationship with money as adults. Using edutainment content to teach kids about money and establish financial literacy is an easy way to sneak some education into your kids’ daily routine and makes learning fun for them too!
Less frightening finances
Focusing on the positives is an important factor when it comes to the beginning of a kids’ relationships with money. But how do you instill the essential knowledge required to navigate tough topics like credit card debt and fraud without scaring young kids away from these financial realities? Games and activities are the best ways to ease into conversations around this and make it all feel more familiar!
Practice makes perfect
There are so many ways you can get kids involved in different money processes from a young age. You can get them to help you count out cash to pay the bill at restaurants, allow them to carry money to stores and pay for what they buy, and talk them through the consequences of their purchase and what they can afford too.
Giving an allowance
Whether or not to give your child an allowance causes divisions in the parent community, but it can actually be an excellent tool when it comes to teaching kids about money. If your kids earn their allowance through helping with chores, it teaches them from a young age that money is earned through hard work and dedication, which will make them appreciate it more and spend it wisely. Once they have decision-making power with this money, they have both the opportunity to succeed and fail. If they fail, they start to learn lessons that a lot of us don’t learn until it’s too late – when we’re adults.
Talk about choices
Allow kids to contemplate different choices when it comes to spending money so you can talk about opportunity cost, identifying the different things they could do with their money. It’s important kids know that when they say yes to one thing, they’re saying no to another. When you’ve explained this, it’s up to them to make smart decisions around their small purchases and learn from their mistakes.
So, who’s doing it right?
More and more financial institutions and organizations are seeing the value in teaching kids about money management and financial literacy while they’re young. Some of these include:
And many more!
About Kidzsmart Communications
We believe your content should be more than just another coloring book. Kidzsmart is a creative agency that is is your spokesperson to modern families, and we’re dedicated to contributing to the greater wellbeing of kids.
For over 20 years we’ve worked with the government, healthcare, and educations sectors as well as global brands in the restaurant and hospitality, tourism, and professional sports industries. Our team has the expertise to expand your family outreach, and we have the tools to do it right. Top of feed means top of mind, and we’re dedicated to creating greater family content that makes a meaningful impact on the lives of kids and families!
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