Every child deserves to be taught about money, but it becomes even more vital in their teen years. They are on the path to becoming young adults and having responsibilities on their shoulders.
So, teaching teenagers about money is one thing every parent should do because if you don’t teach them, someone else will. There is every tendency that the somebody else might have no good idea about money and it’s possible that they will steer your kids in the wrong direction.
According to an article published on www.ramseysolutions.com, “15 ways to teach kids about money”, teaching your teens about money is a very vital quality of parenting. It saves you from costly mistakes they might make as a result of your inability to live up to your duty as a parent. When you inculcate money habits in your children, it helps to discipline them on its use for spending, saving and giving. When it comes to money issues, they know when to spend money and spend according to what they can afford, and when not to spend money but rather set the money aside for future purposes. They also get to know how to give from what they have set aside to support in their own little ways around things in the home. Though their money may be insignificant for a particular purpose, make them believe they have done a lot as a form of encouragement.
These days majority of our teens spend most of their time on the street of social media where they see the highlight reels of their friends, family and even total strangers and these expose them to lots of comparison traps. Let’s say a school mate of theirs buys an expensive dress to mark sweet sixteen birthday party, and your teen gets to see it and tells you, ‘I will want to do same during my birthday too.’ Or a friend is going on a vacation outside the country with their parents and your teen gets to find out and comes to with the question, ‘Why cant we?’ All these comparisons are what lack of contentment can cause. So, teach your teens to be content with what they have and what you can afford to give them at any level of their life. Contentment starts in the heart. Make your teens know that you can give them memorable milestone birthday party or go on a weekend getaway without using a chunk of your savings to fund it.
Help your teens figure out how to make money since they have plenty of free time this holiday period. Even if they don’t buy the idea, help them find a job. Better yet, help them become an entrepreneur. These days it is easier than ever for your teens to start up their own business and make profit. For instance, you can enroll you teen in some data entry course on how to use some software to automate the record of some small businesses, or enroll the artistic ones in some graphic design course. Once they perfect their skill, and with the right tools, off they go to monetize their skill and get jobs done for their clients. Data entry skills can be useful in helping a small business owner know how to track debtors, generate invoice and receipt when a payment is made, and so on, while with graphics, they can design the small business owner’s banner or logo that can be used in online receipts. They can start with these basic ones and as they grow, they can advance their skills.
Give your teens the responsibility of a bank account. By the time your children get to their teen, you should be able to set them up with a simple bank account. This takes their money management to the next level and hopefully prepares them for managing a much bigger account when they get older. This bank account will definitely help those of them who already have a job in the area of receiving their pay and for those who have clients when they have successfully completed their client’s work. The account also helps them to avoid running to you when they need money because your account was used to pay them. By so doing, it deprives them of the opportunity of learning how best to handle their money usefully because you have it in your possession and you have every say concerning the money. If the money is in their account, you will only advise them on how to use it wisely, like getting the money saved for future use – e.g., college, and their other needs. Your teens will feel like they have skin in the game as they contribute towards their education. This training will help them learn that the best way to get a particular thing done is to plan for it and when not planned for, may land them in great consequences of unmet needs. For instance, educate your teen that student loans are not a better option to fund education, but working part-time while in school, and applying for scholarships.
No need to fear the teen years, dear parents. Teach them more responsibility and how to use their money with the future in mind.
Do have a fun-filled weekend as you steer your teens in the right direction.
