Teaching your child about the value of money is incredibly important. It helps shape their future by giving them early knowledge on the basic dos and don’ts of spending and saving. 

While opinions may differ from parent to parent on when it is best to begin these teachings, one thing is for certain: there are countless benefits of doing so.

In this article, we explore when the optimum time is to teach your child about finances and look at different ideas for implementing these lessons.

When should you teach your child about money?

Keeping on top of your finances is an essential life skill, but there’s no right or wrong time to teach your child about the value of money. It is completely up to you as a parent to decide when you feel it would be best to begin.

If you wish to start these teachings at an earlier age, introduce them slowly and with simple concepts and build up their knowledge over time.

You’ll find lots of helpful resources online, such as interactive money games designed for children. Schools should also begin to cover the value of money in maths lessons. However, it never hurts to give your child a head start!

Different ways you can teach your child about money

There are different methods to teaching your child about money. To help you get started, here are a few you can utilise:

Learning about coins

As previously mentioned, the first port of call for younger children is to learn the value of each coin. You can do this in fun ways, such as by getting them to trace around each coin with a pencil, noting their distinctive differences in shape and colour. Then ask them to label each coin and recite back to you what value each coin holds.

Pocket money

A great way to teach children that money doesn’t come to us for free is by implementing a chore system, whereby they can complete a household job to earn money to go into their piggy bank.

You can then begin to teach them the difference between spending and saving. If there’s a particular toy they want to buy but they don’t have enough money, you can teach them to save up until they can afford it. This is a valuable life lesson that is great to teach at an early age.

Money and Me

The Bank of England has provided a helpful 12-step lesson plan for teachers or parents to utilize when teaching children about money. This is split into helpful age categories ranging from Key Stage 1-3.This program covers everything from the history of money to debit cards and contactless payments. You can explore all of this and more on the official Bank of England website.