Teaching the Concept of Saving to Children

sushmavja · Jun 14, 2012

Shanvy said: ↑

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shanvy,thanks for sharing all this..hope i would be able to implement these when my kid grows up..

earrings · Jun 14, 2012

Hello,

I really like the idea of reminding children about how they use utilities etc. can also be saving

I bought a book sometime ago about Pocket Money, I forget the name. It recommended that you get your child a money box or a specially made pig with four compartments labelled 'save' 'spend' 'donate' and 'invest' your child with your help decides what percentage of their pocket money goes in each section,and the meaning of the compartments are explained in an age appropriate way.

As the child grows up they are given more responsibility over their own additional needs for example ballet lessons, they are expected to fund the lesson themselves with additional chores 'not those that are expected of them like cleaning their room' or get a job if old enough. With this method you would have to be very disciplined in providing a set amount of pocket money on time, and not giving into your child's financial wants rather than needs. There was more to the book than this, but these are the things that stood out to me.

Brilliant post. Thank you for reminding me about this.

Nijasav · Jun 14, 2012

Thanks Shanvy, Thanks for the advice.
Beleive it or not, My son have only one jeans and he is using the same jeans for the past one year. Whenever we insist to buy one more jeans, his reply is ""Mum, I am wearing uniform 5 days a week, at home i wear shorts. So only on weekends i use this jeans. Vaisaby ( anyway) , I have 7 T.shirts and noone looks down at what Iam wearing. People look at face and my T.shirt, So what is a bigdeal?. And you are washing my jeans every sunday morning. As far as It is clean jeans and colourful T.shirts, NO BIG DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!""
This is what worries me, He knows the value of money, but he is a Kanshoos number one.
What to do?

Shanvy · Jun 14, 2012

Nijasav,

no, it is not a advice at all..it is just my experience, now that both my kids have crossed that 12..

my daughter still has her 5th standard jeans and fits into it..when i tell her that it is not ok, she sometimes tries to reduce to fit into that..imagine the tension during those arguments.(she is in 12th)

and i know we sometimes are forced to think if we are guilty for this predicament and add to it the family which tends to agree right..

for me, i went and picked up a few new dresses, since i knew her taste/size and packed all her old ones for the orphanage..since she cannot say no to orphanage, the matter was settled.

Just give him a few years he will change.. is somebody else in the family like that.. having just one pair of shoes, one pair of dresses..the child gets influenced..

outofthebox · Jun 15, 2012

sushmavja,

really well done the way you have taught your kid....!

and yes, you are right -

"Also saving in my opinion doesnt mean only money..we should teach them to save electricity,water,food etc.."

it didnt strike me that saving could also be taught in this aspect as well, but myself and my DH are subconsciously telling her...and your post reminded me of how we try to teach her the importance of electricity, water.....its only since the past 2 weeks that she is able to associate...

let me tell you what it is......now that she's learning numbers.....100 and 1000 seems to be the biggest number...!! she is able to realise that its of some big value........around 2 weeks back we found that she's not able to understand why we need to switch off lights, close taps if we are not using, inspite of teling repeatedly....so one day when my DH came back from office, and found lights on, my DD told that she had switched on....then he suddenly told...."isme paisa lagta hai"(this costs money)....and instantly without thinking she asked "kitna" (how much).....we were actually smiling at her question, because we didnt expect she will ask so innocently....then my DH said .....100 Rs......and she felt 100 is such a big number...and she immediately switched off the light....so now it seems very funny, because when we ask her to switch off or close ....she will ask us how much it costs....if we tell her a large number.....she thinks its very bad...we never thought this would even work...but now that it did.....we have to refine on teaching her in a better way....

but its only about food that I am still struggling..but for that also i found a trick....for her birthday this year, i took her to an orphanage.....and will continue to do so in the future too....and before taking her there....maybe a few months ago...i made up my own story about 3 kids.....and out of which 2 kids were very fussy about eating food.....and they always used to waste food.....and then one was very good child....so i used to tell her that one day, flood or something ( watever comes to my mind at that time) wiped out all the food from those 2 kids house...and these 2 children became very hungry....then when they could not take it any longer.....they prayed to God that they will never waste food anymore......and immediately god granted their wish.....i mean even this one, I had made up suddenly...!!! believe me....this worked !!! and i have coined this as "baby who wastes food".....and whenever my DD wastes food....i remind her and ask..."do you remember what happened to those babies who used to waste food" ...and also after taking my DD to the orphanage....I told her that see these kids dont get much food...but see how well-behaved they are and eat whatever they get without fuss....she was just looking at those kids without a word...and i have captured those moments in my mobile, so that i can remind her....it was very touching........so i ask her to compare these situations with her own judgement....and finally i coax her into finishing..

but my dear friends....! its not so easy that she finishes immediately after these "gentle reminders'".....!!! it takes time, but atleast she finishes the food....so "patience" "patience" "patience".....!!

but food is really one aspect that is a big struggle...and needs daily improvement!!! but at times ...cooking up these stories work !!!

outofthebox · Jun 15, 2012

Nijasav,

i dont think you have to worry, maybe as time passes and with your constant reassurance....he will overcome it....in fact....even my brother was like that when he was small...maybe because at a young age itself we had seen our parents go through difficulties...but somehow he seemed to be extreme....when my dad would take us to shops....first he would see the price tag...and even though my dad wanted to get him some dress....he will refuse and take the most cheapest, and it would not even look good.....but now he is not like that .....its a different thing that he never spends extravagant at all...but atleast he is not as bad as he was ...sometimes my dad would feel bad why he is like this when my dad wanted to get something for us.....so just keep reassuring your child.....in our case, seeing our parents go thro tough times could have made us like that....

outofthebox · Jun 15, 2012

earrings,

I really liked this concept which you told about compartmentalising into 4.....but am not sure my DD will understand at this stage....but will try to implement this also at some point of time.

"get your child a money box or a specially made pig with four compartments labelled 'save' 'spend' 'donate' and 'invest' your child with your help decides what percentage of their pocket money goes in each section,and the meaning of the compartments are explained in an age appropriate way."

outofthebox · Jun 15, 2012

Shanvy,

thanks for your post too...

"and why chores and money should not be linked."
"Chores and Children"

i wanted to write about this too...but slipped off my mind each time...thanks for putting this point on...

even I think that chores should not be linked to money....and I think this is the main reason why I put up this post...in the sense...how can we make the kids understand that money saved should not be linked to any kind of rewards for the daily chores they will do.... i think those are two separate things....and yes ....linking chores to rewards looks like bribing.....

and I liked your post in that "Chores and Children" - "I try to make them understand family is all about being a team and team work is important...".....I think I am digressing from the main topic....but just wanted to tell you that this is what we need to enforce...

my only concern is...my DD is a single child....so being a single one.....she's kind of getting adamant......so its all the more difficult to get her to understand.....and it takes double the effort to teach her...so I need to do a lot of role play, take her out to make her understand......maybe its time for another kid...but some circumstances do not support us now....hope that things can get sorted out soon.......

well well...ok so coming back to the main topic....you mentioned passbook...how early can we open a bank account for a kid ? have you done that at an early age ? obviously it would be a joint account....& I guess this may not be the forum to discuss about the procedures......but if you have done that already...just give us an idea...i really wanted to initiate this at an early age for her...but wanted to know some good schemes.....

outofthebox · Jun 15, 2012

hi sushmavja, Shanvy, Nijasav, vjbunny, earrings...

thanks for all your replies...i really didnt expect that I would get some soo soon !!
have responded to each of your posts separately, or else it would have become a single lengthy one!!

great to see ideas coming in.......let's continue brainstorming!!

Shanvy · Jun 15, 2012

Out of the box i think we opened the account when my daughter was 5 she being minor, the parent is the nominee.. some banks give an extra percent for kids account i think..

and both of them have been saving into the account..