My toddler is three. I haven’t started giving her any lessons in money yet. I know the time is coming and she needs to learn. Her only real lesson with money so far has been that swallowing a quarter is a very bad idea. The other lesson she’s been getting with money is that if a card arrives from Grandma, there will be a dollar inside. She loves to open her savings box and count her dollars.
When is the right age to start teaching children about money? Jessie can understand the fifty cents that the ride toy requires outside the grocery store. She seems to understand that she cannot ride the toy if I do not have fifty cents. At this age, teaching will work best in a playing atmosphere. Jessie and I could play store. We could use her play piggy bank and buy things from the store. I do not want to play with her real piggy bank and real money ever since she swallowed the quarter.
Most money concepts she’s not ready for. Money in our house is pretty abstract. We pay cash without using cash for anything. I rarely have cash with me. I use my debit card for purchases. Grammy and Poppa send McDonald’s gift cards to keep Jessie in Happy Meals with apples. I love gift and Jessie loves the meal, but she doesn’t see money change hands.
I know what lessons I want to teach my children about money. I know what money pitfalls I’d like to help them avoid. I don’t know what I’m going to say about it all yet. Thankfully I have a lot of time yet before we really need to get the lessons started. Playing store for now will probably be enough. I’ll follow her lead and keep the choking hazards out of reach.