Is money a taboo subject in your home? Having open conversations with your kids around money is vital to ensuring that you support them in creating a healthy relationship with their money going forward. However the relationship starts with you firstly being a role model yourself of financial wellness. Have a watch and share your thoughts below.
It is often thought that money is not a topic that should be discussed in front of kids in any guise. I vehemently disagree with this. I believe it is very healthy to discuss money with kids in an age appropriate way.
My discussions with my kids started around things that they wanted. We talked through the differences between needs and wants. They get it. It’s not difficult to grasp. When something arises we discuss whether it is a need or w want. If it is a need, then their Dad and I will fund it. If it is a want, I will prompt them as to other ways that they can fund this want via Christmas list, birthday list, sell something they own and no longer want or create ways for them to generate some income to fund their want.
In times of financial challenges, this is something I also believe that is healthy to discuss with children again in an age appropriate way. When covid hit, our only income was wiped out over night. This was terrifying to me as an adult and once I had gotten my own head around how we would manage this, I shared our plan with the kids so that they understood why we were cutting back on some things and why we needed to be careful.
If I didn’t explain to them what was going on, I suspect their fears would have been greater. Once they were included in the conversation on this, they knew we had it under control and understood the rationale to our decisions which impacted them.
They saw me look at ways to add additional income as well as cut back on outgoings. These are basic principles to money management and to successfully managing your personal finances. So if this strikes a chord with you, I’d urge you to reflect on how you can have healthy conversations with your children on the topic of money.
Please do share your thoughts and experiences on this, I’d love to hear your perspective.
To Your Financial Wellness,
Caitriona
