They say parents are the child’s first teacher. That’s true. In fact, what you show to your children now could have a huge impact on them as they get older. This includes how you handle money and finances at home.
The truth is teaching money lessons to kids can be tricky, especially when you are miles away from home. Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
Read this post and let this help you teach money concepts to your kids – and hopefully, you’ll adapt these too:
Money Lesson No. 1: Get to know the Philippine money a little bit better.
You can’t teach addition and subtraction immediately. Before you teach them about how to handle money, you need to educate them about what Philippine money is.
Introduce the peso denomination, including the people and places in front and at the back of the money. If you could tell stories and a bit of history about the Philippine money, then indulge your little ones with that. They could easily appreciate money because they know and understand the stories behind it.
You could use real money or play money when introducing this concept.
Money Lesson No. 2: Play money games.
It’s not enough that you teach your kids about denomination and who are the heroes imprinted on the money. Kids are kids and after a few minutes, they might forget about what you told them.
Therefore, make learning more exciting. You could try guessing game or sorting games. During your vacation back home, try pretend play by transforming your room into a grocery store or restaurant and money will be used to pay for the items bought.
The bottom line is the more you make learning fun and exciting, the more they will remember it.
Money Lesson No. 3: Explain how money is earned.
Being OFW is tough. Aside from the sacrifices you have to make by leaving your family to work abroad, you will also be partly responsible for the needs – and wants – of your extended family. Because of this, your children might think that earning money is easy.
Change that mentality by explaining to your kids how money is earned, which is by doing valuable work. Tell them that no one will hand you millions of pesos simply by sitting and waiting. In fact, make your kids understand that the reason why they are experiencing what they have is because of the hard work you need to do overseas.
Don’t sugarcoat and explain to your kids what the reality is. Let them know the reasons why at times, you can’t give what they are requesting. They will appreciate and value money more because they know the hard work that comes with every centavo.
Tip: Give your child age-appropriate jobs and pay them. For instance, let your child look after the sari-sari store and give him a salary at the end of his shift. This not only teaches the value of hard work but also instill work ethic and discipline at a young age.
Money Lesson No. 4: Teach about the importance of saving.
This is a must. Saving should not just be your sole responsibility, rather a family effort. Now that your kids know what money is and how it is earned, the next thing you need to teach is how to save the money earned.
A piggy bank or saving jar is a good idea but if you want to keep track of how much money is saved, then consider opening a bank account under their names. Give them access to that account but be firm that this is for future use and not for the things they want that won’t last.
Check out this post for a list of savings account you could open for your kids.
Teaching money to your children and instilling good money values will take time. Start now and you will reap the rewards later.