Money Matters: Teaching the Value of Money

Parents often say, “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” This saying is much more than an excuse not to buy the latest toys. Money’s value comes from labor. Adults have to earn it to live. We get our paychecks from the goods and services that we offer our employers, and in the same way, we give money for the goods and services that we receive from others.

Therefore, a child must learn that money is received when they have earned it. I recommended this idea to someone who was having trouble getting their teenager to do their chores, and his response was, “I don’t want to bribe her.” But if our employers did not bribe us, we would not work for them. We would find a better employer.

In earning money, children learn to balance wants with income. They can decide for themselves if the toy they want is really worth the effort of saving up to buy or if they want something else instead. No longer is it up to us to provide everything, and they learn how to make choices for themselves.

For us, I have a morning and evening routine. In the morning, they get themselves dressed and ready for the day, make their beds, and put away their pajamas. In the evening, they put on their pajamas, put away their dirty clothes, and clean up their toys. For each morning and for each evening routine they complete, they get a quarter, which could be fifty cents a day. Each week, their routines are posted on their doors.

Here are some ideas on teaching children the value of money:

1. Set up a lemonade or ice cream stand. Have them buy what they need out of their own allowance or have them pay you back from their earnings.
2. Set up an art gallery for them to sell their best artwork or arts and crafts, or have an art show and charge a small admission fee.
3. Help them offer their services to neighbors and friends for a small fee. Older children can start babysitting or lawn mowing businesses. Younger children can pick up sticks or plant flowers.
4. Plant a garden together and sell or trade your produce to your neighbors.
5. Write an illustrated children’s book together. Have it bound at a local shop, and sell it to family and friends.
6. Have a bake sale. The children can help plan, bake, and collect the money.
7. Have a garage sale, and let them select some of their old toys to sell.
8. Have a car wash.

To follow up with these activities, the book Sluggers Carwash by Stuart J. Murphy is a great story about money for young gradeschoolers.