In their developing stage, children tend to copy adults’ behavior until they form their own. They still cannot make a difference between good and bad actions, and it is our responsibility to shape them into the best versions of ourselves.
We can often spot kids playing shops: making money out of tree leaves, selling and buying goods with them. When they play family, they also give “pocket money” to their “children,” just like parents do. Children are faced with small financial decisions long before we notice it. Therefore, we should start teaching them the right way to manage their money, whether they are dollars or still tree leaves, from a very young age.
Based on this idea, we have come up with the concept of a financial workshop for children, where experts in the domain will be educating them on the importance of money planning and wise spending in a playful, informal way.
Why is the workshop important?
Parents usually do not talk to children about money unless they say, “It is too expensive for us” or “Here is some money for the day.” Kids remain with unanswered questions: What is the line between cheap and expensive? On what do I spend pocket money? What will happen if I save up this money?
Our workshop aims to answer the questions playfully, so we set up a basis for future financial literacy without scaring them off. For each activity, we have set up different goals: to help participants understand how to budget and to know why budgeting is important, getting in touch with bank systems and understanding their basis, explaining what payment options exist and how safe is each of them, etc. Every workshop looks towards introducing finance to children not as a new domain, but rather a natural part of the everyday lives.
What is going to be there?
Financial experts and speakers with a broad background of financial education and educating will join together to reach the aims mentioned above. One of the speakers that will be with the children throughout the day is Latoria Williams, CEO of 1FirstCashAdvance.
In a friendly and non-classroom manner, seminar leaders will approach a different financial subject with each activity: how to plan the budget, what does too expensive mean, how do salaries work, what is currency, what are the options of handling payments, how to secure your money, etc. At every point of the conversation, educators will be open to questions and explaining in detail the subject.
What will be the result?
We intend to set the participants on a straight financial path for their future adulthood. However, this is a long-term goal that can be verified in a decade only. Among our short-term results, we count the children being able to make a payment: bank card, online, cash, etc. Simultaneously, the price should be well-analyzed based on safety, necessity, process, and permission. Among all, we intend to cultivate the openness of talking about money. In this way, parents will be aware of their kids’ budgets and their intention. Moreover, it will also considerably lower the chances of unnecessary spending during their developing years and benefit the family in the long-run when the time comes to discussions on college funds.
We believe that a playful, open atmosphere is the best medium to learn about daily activities, such as managing finance; this is why our experts are already planning on giving the children the best knowledge with the least amount of tension or boredom!