Family Resources Newsletter - February 2023 | Child Development Associates

Dear CDA Families,

If you are like most parents, you think about ways to secure your child’s future and financial success. However, in today’s economy it seems difficult as many of us are just trying to make ends meet. It may not seem like much, but setting financial goals and teaching your children about money as early in life as possible, will help them develop a strong foundation for healthy financial habits in the future.

Beginning the conversation with your children is an important step in helping them understand how money works and how to develop a healthy relationship with it. Sharing your own experiences growing up, highlighting the things you wish had been different, as well as all of the successes you had when learning how to manage money.

Money Matters for Kids

Decisions, such as financial ones, are usually influenced by various sources, such as our culture, family, ethnicity, community, socio-economic status, and even religion. As parents and caregivers, the choices we make will usually influence and affect our children. Financial stress can be extremely overwhelming, especially given the consumer society we live in. Children and adolescents are constantly being bombarded by social media and popular culture and the style of living they see is usually very unrealistic. Don’t wait to teach your children about money and developing healthy financial habits. Here are some tips to consider:

1. Securing Your Child’s Future

Part of developing a strong and healthy financial future for your child is ensuring their personal information stays secure. The best way to protect them from identity theft is to teach them about online safety as early as they learn to begin to use online devices, such as computers or mobile phones. It is also important that you take control and limit access, including sharing information on social media outlets where identity thieves, hackers, and scammers are known to gather pieces of information for the purpose of committing fraud. child care.

2. Talking about money

Children naturally like to learn and ask a lot of questions. A great way to teach your child about money is to engage them in the process of understanding how money works and its value. Helping your child learn the difference between needs and wants will also help them to prioritize how they use their money and spend it. For example, make a shopping list with your child of items you need or want to buy for the family, such as food, clothes, toys, crayons, and so on. Ask your child to identify the needs and wants, and prioritize them in order of importance.

3. Creating a budget

Creating a budget or spending plan is a useful tool to help us learn and decide how much money we can spend and how to spend it. Creating a budget and sticking to the plan will help us set limits and to stop us from overspending and running out of money. The same applies when teaching your child about spending plans. For example, give your child a specific amount of money and ask him or her to help find items needed, and encourage comparison shopping while staying within the budget.

4. Setting goals

Teaching your children to set goals will help them focus on things they want to achieve. For example, putting aside a certain amount of money for a specific purpose such as buying a favorite toy or a special outing. Create a goals chart and share your short or long-term goals, and steps on how you plan to meet them. Help your child do the same and track progress together.

5. Using a clear jar to save

A fun way to get children excited about saving is using a clear jar. The traditional piggy bank doesn’t allow children to see their money grow. Also, when your child decides he or she wants to buy something, have them use their money from their savings jar to allow them to also see their money decrease.

6. How money is earned

A great way to teach children to appreciate money is by letting them earn it. Set up a list of age-appropriate assignments and payments for the different tasks. Make sure you pay based on your agreement.

7. Lead by example

Parents are a child’s first teacher. When it comes to teaching your children about money, the best way is to set an example. Avoid arguing about money or making impulse purchases. Your child is far more likely to develop habits based on our own actions.

I hope you find these tips and resources helpful in teaching your children about money management.

Financial Literacy Resources

OnGuardOnline

OnGuardOnline is a great resource to learn more about online safety. Learn more at https://onguardonline.gov

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – Money Smart

FDIC – Money Smart is a financial education program that helps people of all ages enhance their financial skills.
Learn more at: https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/

SDCCU Biz Kid$

The San Diego County Credit Union (SDCCU) has partnered with the San Diego County Office of Education and Live Well San Diego to provide educational tools that teach kids about money and business. Learn more at: https://www.sdccu.com/about/community/sdccu-biz-kids/#

Junior Achievement:

JA’s volunteer-delivered, K- 12th grade programs foster work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy skills, and use experiential learning to inspire students to dream big and reach their potential. Learn more at: https://www.juniorachievement.org/web/ja-usa/home

San Diego Financial Literacy Program

The program provides free financial literacy services throughout San Diego County. Learn more at: https://www.sdflc.org/

Upcoming Workshops

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