by Amanda van der Gulik
So you want to teach your child about money but have no idea where to start…or maybe you don’t feel confident being their money role model?
Don’t worry, you are NOT alone!
I don’t know about you but most parents feel that they are never quite the perfect role model for their child that they would like to be right?
For example, when it comes to money maybe you are not where you want to be financially and so you don’t feel qualified to teach your child right?
Again, no worries at all…
That’s where I come in!
Am I a perfect role model for your child?
ABSOLUTELY!!!
Hey that sure sounds stuck up and egotistical right?
Well, it’s not. I’m a perfect example of what to do and what NOT to do!
“Ahh!!! Now you’re talking!”
And guess what?
“What?”
You are too!
“Huh? Me?”
Of course. Don’t you see, by being completely open with our kiddos about all of our financial successes as well at the failures we are being great role models for our kiddos!
They will watch the successes and mirror those, and as long as we explain and really show our kids the failures…and the consequences of those failures…and how we fix them…
Then our children will get the most amazing opportunity of their lives:
To live vicariously through our mistakes so they avoid those when they grow up and focus on our mirroring our successes instead!
See?
“I guess…”
Oh don’t go too deeply there, be kind on yourself. You see the only way you can mess up is…
…TO NOT SHARE YOUR MISTAKES WITH YOUR CHILD!
“Huh?”
When you hide your failures, your child only sees the ‘results’ of those failures: the stress, the lack of money, the panic every time a bill comes in that needs immediate payment or else! etc.
Our kids are smart. What we don’t tell them, they feel anyway!
Don’t kid yourself! Even when we try to hide and protect them from our financial mistakes they feel it. They know.
So what can we do?
Be open and honest with them!
It really is the best way to go. Look your child is going to have financial failures at some stage in their life. There is no way around it. It’s a part of our learning curve and it’s a very important part. But what we can do is teach them how to behave during those times. Give them tools so they’ll know how to react when life hits them hard.
It’s not about helping them completely avoid every pitfall but… it’s about equipping them to be ready for them to take those failures by the horns and turn them into great future successes!
Today I want to help you with that by giving you 5 simple steps for teaching your child how to be a success with money.
Here’s a short video that shows them all to you, after you watch the video…and share it with your friends…hey I have to do a plug every now and then right? ;)….then read below and I’ll take you through each of the 5 steps so you’ll exactly how to make sure your child is fully equipped the financial knowledge they will need to not only survive financially but THRIVE!!!
It’s time to stop being your child’s personal ATM bank machine! Time for them to figure out their own way to make money and more importantly how to manage their money so it will work hard for them for the rest of their lives!
“5 Tips to Success: Teaching Children About Money”
Okay now let’s go through each part of that video so you can get the most out of it and get your child onto financial success from a young age!
Our goal here is to turn your child into a Money Expert!
A force for financial good in our world!
The first thing we need to do is get our kids excited to actually WANT to learn about money!
“How do you do that?”
Click here to read more...
Cheers…Amanda van der Gulik…Excited Life Enthusiast! ;o)
P.S. Please share your own stories in the comments section on Amanda's post, we would LOVE to read them and maybe even do a whole post showcasing you and your family!
Amanda uses story-telling to teach children and teens the fundamentals of money so your child will learn these in a fun and memorable way, without feeling like they're being TOLD what to do! Amanda has been a special guest on Radio Disney, featured in The Costco Connections Magazine both in Canada and the USA and on numerous parenting shows around the globe. Grab your FREE 7 Gifts for Teaching Children About Money at www.TeachingChildrenAboutMoney.com.
