Understanding the Family Economy

As a parent of a preschooler I realize as my daughter grows older it is essential that she learns about the economy at an early age. No, I don't mean the U.S. economy. That is hard enough for most adults to understand. Even more difficult for some politicians to grasp. The most important economy for young children to begin learning about is the family economy.

Toddlers can begin getting exposed to money through piggy banks and playing with coins.

Cautionary note: Just do not turn your back on them or you may suddenly find coins disappearing into mouths. Luckily we narrowly avoided a trip to the emergency room with our daughter!

As kids enter the preschool years you can help them continue to identify different types of money. Parents can also help them begin to understand the difference between basic needs and wants. Sometimes I find myself needing a refresher course in that area as well. The concept of earning money is also an important lesson to be learned during the preschool years. Kids can be taught about the reasons that mommy and daddy go to work. They also need to know that everyone in the family has a job. Their job is to simply be a kid. The primary occupation of children is to learn, to play, to honor their parents, and to go to timeout when they don't.

Young children do not need to know everything about recessions, stock market trends, interest rates or federal bailouts. However, they do need to understand their role in the family economy.