Financial management for kids

I can't believe it's been 1.5 years since my last post. Baby R is turning 2 soon, and he's been such a joy to have around the house. This post is not about baby R, but what prompted me to write again is the need to jot down my thoughts on the very important life lesson of financial management.

It really is never too young to start teaching concepts of delayed gratification, savings and being prudent. Let me first start with this very light moment which we all found rather hilarious...

One Saturday morning we asked the kids if they would like to go out for breakfast with us (hubs and I normally like to eat out on weekends).
H: Then we'll have to spend money. Why can't we just eat at home?
L: OK kor you eat at home then, I'm going out with mommy & daddy!

Two kids raised in the same home, two very different perspective. H, always the prudent one; L on the other hand, can often time be demanding. We thought the above exchange was rather funny, nothing more.

But hilarious no more when I witnessed first hand the way kids these days spend money when I was given the opportunity to chaperon a bunch of kids in a school field trip recently. The kids were spending at the souvenir shop like there's no tomorrow, ravaging the shelves and filling their baskets with all kinds of toys, novelties, knick knacks, etc. I must say it was really a culture shock for me. How much money do these kids have with them? Do they really need all those stuff? They were mostly 7 to 8 year-olds and the way they were allowed to freely spend made me extremely worried. These kids are going to grow up not appreciating the value of hard earned money. I can appreciate that parents may want to shower their kids with what they want (we love our kids and we can afford to spend on them so what's wrong with that?!!), but aren't we just seeding a whole generation of entitled kids?

I remember a friend once complained to me that his teenage son demanded for a car to go to college, not just any car mind you, but an expensive sports car. We may put the blame on the kid for being materialistic, but frankly, my friend ought to take the blame too. If this boy has been given everything he wanted all his life without having to work hard for it, what can you expect? It is easy to indulge the younger kids as their demands aren't as "costly" (yet), but we are just setting ourselves up for larger and larger demands as they grow older.

I'm so glad H is still grounded. I say 'still', since he's in an environment whereby he sees his peers spending freely ever so often, and hope it stays this way. Quite often I find myself reminding my kids about how hard it is to earn a dollar, about needs vs. wants, about having to save for a rainy day, etc. I just pray and hope that they will remain grounded and not succumb to peer pressure.