Teaching children the value of money is more difficult in today's cashless culture where checking accounts, ATM cards and credit purchases are part of everyday life. How do parents show kids the impact of everyday purchases on the family budget?
According to an online poll of 556 parents by Parent Soup, one of the largest parenting sites on the Web and America OnLine, 58% feel that school-age children and teens should be part of the family budgeting process, 32% feel that parents should not share family financial information with their children.
Those who voted "no" explained that they feel there are better ways to teach kids about financial responsibility and were worried that children not take on additional concerns in already stressful lives. Others feel that real life is the best learning experience of all, and include their children in making family financial decisions.
Here's what people had to say:
• Why in the world would you put added stress on your children about the family budget? Our children have grown up knowing that sometimes we have to wait until payday for purchases. That's as much of the financial situation that they need to know as children. That is what school-kids are -- children.
- meritt (Web)
• My family was poor when we were growing up but we never felt like we were going to end up on the streets. We did hear, "that's too expensive," and we wore second-hand clothes. We always felt secure about having a roof over our head and having warm food in our belly. It is important to teach children the value of money, but it isn't necessary to include them in the family budget.
- katnappy (Web)
