Fun ways to teach your kids about money
Teaching your kids about money doesn’t have to be boring. Try turning your activities into something fun and creative, and something they’ll remember.
You can turn any everyday activity into a financial learning experience for your kids. Consider using one (or more) of these activities to get your kids to learn about money.
- Decorate a piggy bank out of anything, including mason jars.
- Draw pictures of items or experiences they would like. Hang the finished artwork on the refrigerator as a reminder of what they are saving for.
- Create a fun jar with ideas for free activities you can do together. The kids could decorate it and share their ideas. Some ideas may include a movie night, game night, or a trip to the park.
- Decorate a lemonade stand. Your kids can learn how to buy and sell items to neighbors.
- Teach the concept of recycling by making crafts out of ordinary items you would normally throw away such as toilet paper rolls, jars, and boxes.
- Let the kids create and decorate their own play money.
- Pretend your kids run a restaurant. Have them think of the menu, prices, and shopping list for the ingredients. Your kids could even dress up as waiters and you could pay them with play money.
- For the older kids, Monopoly® gives them the opportunity to learn money management, real estate, and even investing. The game of Life is also a great option to teach life skills including saving up for retirement.
- Pretend a room in your home is a store. Allow your kids to use play money for physical items to teach them budgeting, financial decision making, needs vs. wants, and commerce.
- Turn saving for a trip or item into a contest. Make it a competition to see who is the most creative and saves the most toward a goal. Map out your progress by designing a savings chart on a poster board.
- Play money games online to teach basic money concepts.
- Make a budget pie chart out of a real pie. Your kids are not only going to get a sweet dessert, but also teach them budgeting.
- Show your kids the value of giving back by choosing a charity or volunteering like at an animal shelter.
- Teach your kids to donate old toys and clothes to charity.
- Take your kids to the bank with you and show them how to make a deposit, withdraw money, or open a savings account.
The information in this article was obtained from various sources not associated with Adirondack Bank. While we believe it to be reliable and accurate, we do not warrant the accuracy or reliability of the information. Adirondack Bank is not responsible for, and does not endorse or approve, either implicitly or explicitly, the information provided or the content of any third-party sites that might be hyperlinked from this page. The information is not intended to replace manuals, instructions or information provided by a manufacturer or the advice of a qualified professional, or to affect coverage under any applicable insurance policy. These suggestions are not a complete list of every loss control measure. Adirondack Bank makes no guarantees of results from use of this information.
