The best way to teach your children about money is to tell family stories that illustrate the money lessons you think are most important.
Jonathan Clements in the Wall St Journal says telling stories really worked in his family. Every one of his siblings is incredibly careful about money because they heard the stories of the maternal grandfather who inherited millions of dollars and how he spent it all, spending his last days working as a part-time gardener to pay the bills.
We all have parents or grandparents who lived through the Depression and they can tell us a few stories and they probably have.
Clements has some pointers.
Choose your stories carefully and embellish them a bit.
Set a good example
Frequent short stories beat long discussions
The Best Way to Teach Kids About Money (subscribers only)
Posted by Jill Fallon at July 18, 2006 3:31 PM | TrackBack | PermalinkI found that embellished stories work for all important matters one wishes to communicate, especially -- most especially -- to teenagers who can't process consequences on their own, according to the latest brain studies, until their late teens.
So, to tell a story about what happens if a teenager does X, or doesn't do X, I tell about Another Child. It sticks in their mind and they are better prepared when faced with decisions on their own.
Good catch. Cheers.
Posted by: H.A.Page at July 19, 2006 8:32 AM