Even at this young age, you can start implementing important financial lessons in your child’s everyday life. Here some ways that you can teach your 2 to 4-year old children about money.
MAKE BELIEVE
Playing make believe games that involve exchanging cash for goods & services, such as a grocery store, is a great way to teach toddler aged children about the role money plays around them. This idea will be reinforced when they see you mimicking this behavior in the ‘real world’ every time you take them out shopping.
USE CASH
When your child does save up to buy something, have them pay in cash, if possible, so they are able to watch the transaction first hand. By actually handing the money to the cashier and receiving their new item, they can see that the money they worked hard to earn is gone. A physical representation of spending is better than your child giving you the money and then you using a credit or debit card to make the purchase.
MAKE IT VISUAL
Younger kids respond to visuals rather than abstract ideas. By using clear jars to save their money during this age, they can actually see their money grow. You can also use this concept to create early budgeting methods by using different jars for different things. For example, one for savings and one spending.
FINANCIAL VIDEOS
There are many online resources available that have videos that teach about different facets of money for your kids. You can search for content that is applicable to your child's age and current grasp of financial topics. YouTube is a great place to start and many of these content creators may have additional resources that you can use.
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