3 Reasons Why It’s Important to Teach Your Kids About Money

This is a guest post from a reader Whitney Sparks.  If you’re a reader and want to contribute to Faith and Finance, check out our write for us page.

Do you sit your kids down and talk to them about money?  I can honestly tell you that as a parent there are few times that we even “sit down”.  As the mother of a six-year-old and a three-year-old, I am often too nervous to bring up any topic afraid of where the conversation might lead.  Especially when I am conversing with two boys!  With this being said, I am proud to tell you that somewhere along the way my kids have learned about money.  I think that’s because believing is seeing in the eyes of child.  On a daily basis, they see how my husband and I handle money.  So even though we don’t really “sit” our children down and drill this into their heads, they are still learning the importance of money just by watching us.

1.  It Will Change Your Family Tree

Teaching your children at an early age about money, will change your family tree forever.  I grew up in a family where money was never really discussed “in front of the children”.  I believe my parents weren’t open to the idea of  talking about  money because they didn’t want my brother and I to worry.  Even though I completely respect that decision, I sometimes wonder if it would’ve really been all that bad if we knew what was happening with their finances.  My husband and I really struggled our first year of marriage to the point that divorce was often looming in the back of my mind.  Most of that stress came from fear and the  lack of knowledge on how to deal with credit cards and student loans.  There are so many times that I wish our family would have shared with us about the struggles and strains of the first-year of marriage and how that stress doubles when you are in debt.  Even though I can’t go back and fix that first year of marriage, I can talk to my kids about ways to avoid these problems.  I can change the tree one branch at a time.

2. Your Children May Take Care of You One Day

Another reason why it’s important to start the money talk now is that one day your children will be taking care of you.  This really hit home for me not long after I was married and my dad was diagnosed with cancer.  Since I have had multiple grandparents die of cancer, our minds automatically went to the worst case scenario – that Dad was not going to survive.  Wow!  That really makes you grow up fast at 21 years old.  I was already having to help make decisions about what to do with mom just in case dad didn’t survive the cancer.  My dad is now a cancer survivor and is doing well, but something inside of me changed when all of that took place.  I am now asking more questions about their financial state and they are more opened to sharing.  Just like any loving child, I want to be there for them when they need me the most.

3. Give Your Kids What You May Have Never Had

I hear so many parents make this statement, “I just want my children to have what I was never able to have”.  Then after hearing this statement, I watch as those parents put themselves in a financial strain giving their children everything they didn’t have growing up.  Is that really giving your child what you never had?  If you want to give them something that you never had, then look ahead to their future.  Give them hope.  Give them advice about how to stay out of debt.  Give them the life that you never had by showing them that they can have nice things as long as they live within their means.  Look beyond the temporal things in life and look at their future.

Are you already teaching your children about money?  If not, was there something listed above that has convinced you that maybe it’s time to start?

This was a guest post from Whitney Sparks, a financial coach committed to motivating and encouraging others to find financial freedom.  Take a minute to check out her site www.whitneysparks.net.

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