Page 64 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2017

KIDS piggy bank
Start early teaching kids about money
Teaching children about money raises all sorts
of questions. What’s appropriate at each age? Should they be shielded from financial difficulties the family may have? How can the connection between debit/credit cards be explained as children see less and less actual cash?
Kimberly Morgan, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with Memorial Behavioral Health, says if parents don’t educate their children about money, someone else will. “It’s so important; eight out of 10 times financial issues are why people come to see me,” she said. “Include children in talks about money and budgeting. Also, they need to feel and see money and what it means to make them understand that spending is not just swiping cards.”
Selena Swartzfager, president of the Mississippi Council on Economic Education, sees six standards in personal finance that all children need to know. They include:
Earning income, Buying goods and services, Using credit Saving, Financial investing, and Protecting and Insuring.
“Each of these six standards includes benchmarks outlining what a student should be able to understand and examples at the 4th, 8th and 12th grade levels of how the student might demonstrate this understanding,” she said. “The benchmarks also emphasize decision-making skills by explicitly relating planning and goal setting, financial decision making, and assessing outcomes to each standard.”
Morgan and Swartzfager say children should be aware of financial problems to an age appropriate degree. “This is a tough one. You don’t want children to be burdened if their parents are having money troubles, but at the same time, it’s important for them to understand why their parents cannot
BANKING
ON OUR FUTURE
story by Lynn Lofton
purchase things they may want or even need,” Swartzfager said. “Personally, I would not share this information in great detail with a child until they’re in their late teens.”
Both agree that it’s good for teenagers to have jobs where they can have an understanding of what it means to earn money consistently and to spend it. “Younger children can work around the home for money, rather than being given allowances,” Morgan said. “That teaches the value system of earning what you spend.”
They also stress the importance of instilling the value
of saving. Saving can be through bank savings accounts
or piggy banks at home for younger children. “Requiring them to save a certain percentage of their income is a
good idea,” Swartzfager said. “Income can be generated from gifts received at birthdays or Christmas, in addition
to allowances, work around the house, entrepreneurial ventures such as mowing yards, and jobs. Teaching this skill and allowing them to feel the peace associated with having money saved for a rainy day is beneficial.”
The Mississippi Council on Economic Education has programs for teachers and students kindergarten through grade 12.
Mississippi Council on Economic Education
601.974.1091 • www.mscee.org
Economic Education National Standards in Financial Literacy www.councilforeconed.org
64 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • April 2017
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