Start early to teach children how to manage their money
Submitted. Children are often taught important life lessons such as be kind and tell the truth, but one important lesson they typically don’t learn until much later in life is the value of a dollar. If you’re a parent, you’ve no doubt been asked numerous times to buy the latest toy or gadget because “Everyone has one!” How you respond to those requests and what you teach your children about money as a result will impact them for the rest of their life.
Money skills are important life skills. The more you teach them at a young age, the better-equipped kids will be to make smart money decisions.
In celebration of Family Literacy Day on January 27, here are some tips from BC-based Prospera Credit Union to help you get started:
- Make money a regular topic of family conversation. Talk about how you make everyday money decisions and include kids in activities like grocery shopping or budgeting/saving for a family vacation.
- Start them on the road to financial independence. Ask your local credit union to give your kids a tour and open their very own account. Most credit unions offer a free account for children as well as one for young adults up to the age of 25 and all credit union members get free access to thousands of ATMs across Canada on The Exchange Network.
- Help your kids understand the difference between wants and needs and explore other ways to get the things they want, such as borrowing/sharing or buying second-hand items.
About Family Literacy Day
Family Literacy Day in Canada is held annually on January 27 to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family. Taking time every day to do a learning activity with children is crucial to a child’s development. Just 15 minutes a day can improve a child’s literacy skills dramatically and can help parents improve their skills as well. Family Literacy Day was initiated by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999.
What is Literacy?
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines literacy as “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy is a fundamental human right and the foundation for lifelong learning.” However, literacy is much more than being able to comprehend text. Literacy goes hand-in-hand with issues of economics, justice, and social well-being.
About Prospera Credit Union
Building on more than 70 years as a BC credit union, Prospera is proud to serve communities from Vancouver to Kelowna. As a member-owned financial institution, our number one priority is the financial well-being of families and businesses in our local communities and our dedicated team is here to serve all of their banking, lending, investing and insurance needs through sixteen branches; online and mobile banking and an alternative channel that includes a locally-based Contact Centre and Broker Centre. As a member of The Exchange network, members also enjoy access to thousands of surcharge-free ATMs across Canada (that’s right, no ATM fees). Making life better for everyone is important at Prospera, which has an extensive community investment program devoted to supporting the organizations, events and volunteers that make our BC communities stronger. To learn more, check out Prospera’s Facebook page or visitwww.dontjustbankprosper.ca.