Money Activities for Your 6 to 8 Year Old

At this age your child is beginning to understand what money can do. By planning activities and giving guidance when your child wants to buy something you can begin to teach them how to save and spend wisely.

• Give your child money every week based on the responsibilities she has around the house. Then help her start setting goals.
• Your child will need guidance on how to spend her money. Suggest alternatives that can help your child stretch her money, instead of buying that new book suggest a trip to the library.
• Help your child set appropriate long term plans for her money. Your child should have short and long term goals to keep them motivated. A short term goal could be a new bike and a long term goal could be college savings.
• A matching program is a great opportunity for a relative, such as an aunt or grandparent, to offer support. They might consider matching money for that new bike. This is a great chance to teach your child about 401k’s, how employers often match money for their employees to help them save for the future. This will increase the chances of your child taking advantage of all the investing opportunities that come their way in the future.
• Reinforcing your child’s desire to have and use money is important at this age. They are beginning to understand the power money has and they need to understand how to use that power.

With your help they will be able to make money work for them far into the future!