Teach Your Child About Money NOW!
Will they ever learn? Or maybe better to ask, will we ever teach them?
On April 9, 2008 Jump$tart, the National Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, announced that financial literacy among High School Seniors is still on the decline.
In Jump$tart Coalition’s biennial survey given to 6,856 high school 12th graders in 40 states, students correctly answered only 48.3 percent of the questions. This mean score is a decrease from those posted by the senior class of 2006, which correctly answered 52.4 percent of the questions.
“The survey demonstrates that graduating high school seniors continue to struggle with financial literacy basics,” said Lewis Mandell, Ph.D., professor of finance and managerial economics at SUNY Buffalo School of Management. Mandell conducts the surveys for Jump$tart.
Encourage your teen to turn off the TV, video game or iPod and take the 1st step towards becoming a financially literate adult by taking our on-line course, Your Financial Life – For Young Adults. There they can learn about the importance of setting financial goals, budgeting, credit, saving and investing, borrowing money, taxes, and much more!
If your children are younger, please take our on-line class, Children & Money Tips for Parents and Teachers. It is never too early to start planting the financial literacy seed.
For more information about Jump$tart and its biennial survey go to our website http://www.myfinancialgoals.org/ and visit our partner links!
Posted by: Angelique Knapp on April 23rd, 2008 under Financial literacy.
Tags: Jump$tart, teens and money
Comments
Comment from Anonymous
Time April 23, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I found that if I start teaching my childern early, as early as 5, about debt, interest and investments they not only understand it but they love it.
Comment from Anonymous
Time April 23, 2008 at 2:26 pm
When I sat down with my son and explained to them how interest rates work on credit card ie daily compounding, my son look up and asked me why would anyone pay that much? Good question.
Comment from Anonymous
Time April 24, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Personally, I think it is age dependent to a degree. Young children certainly can be made aware of financial situations without the gory details! Be careful not to frighten them with possible loss of home, etc.
I know when I was younger and out of work, with small children we were able to gently explain why “Daddy” was home and how that effected our ability to purchase some of the luxury items that the kids wanted (toys, games, etc).
On the other hand, I firmly believe that the older children, certainly by the teen years need to know what is going on and how it can effect them. When I have done this it has made immediate changes in behavior- for the positive!
Tough financial times cause a lot of extra stress, and kids feel this- explaining the cause of the stress can be really helpful all around!
Comment from Anonymous
Time April 23, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Is it wise to teach your childern about your particular financial situation?