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Times are now different, as parents are shaking their heads at the differences between themselves and the children which we called generations! The generation gap is fast becoming a generation lap as our kids or maybe our grandchildren overtake us in the information they have at their fingertips.
The processing skills, especially using the internet, are one key element that sets us apart, sometimes the differences between adults and kids are rarely radical as you think.
A teen faces many of the same dilemmas as us in making their own financial decisions and consumer decisions based on research.
As parents we need to recognize the learning process of each child so that we can work on them individually. Each of our children is unique. I have some learning strategy that I always remember which I am sure some of you have learned but didn’t apply it to their lives. We can take these principles to help our children to engage their interest in financial literacy.
The guru I am talking about is none other than Dale Carnegie. I got these principles from his bestseller books “How to win friends and influence people”.
1. Don’t criticize, condemn and complain.
Criticizing the children who is learning a new concept will always boomerang back, because a child switches to a defense mode instead of staying open to new ideas. So avoid criticism, condemnation and complaints wherever possible when teaching financial principles to your children
2. Give honest , sincere appreciation.
Reward your children when he make correct decisions of financial behaviour (especially the small achievements in the case of beginner) by giving honest, sincere appreciation whenever it’s warranted. At the same time keep a wary eye open to help discourage bad habits from forming. We can use this fundamental principle, for training everything.
3. Arouse the children an eager to learn.
Don’t force any finance idea down your children throats. Much better to back off if you experience problems an let them discover ideas for themselves by:
a) putting them in positions where they need to handle cash or make purchasing decisions as regularly as possible.
b) leaving book marked books or open newspaper with useful info lying around where they likely to find them.
