This is the first post in a 5-part series about money concepts. These articles are mostly written in “kid talk” for you to discuss when you can. Our financial situations are all unique, so the suggestions offered are simply a framework for you to personalize. Rephrase, skip, and embellish as needed for the ages and interests of your kids. Break it up over the course of several days if desired.
Opening Idea:
We obviously use money to buy things, but how we use money communicates some basic ideas.
1 – Money shows that someone did work. We pay people money for their time and effort. For example: mom’s/dad’s jobs, a store cashier, vet, construction worker, private coach, or (for some families) household chores.
Some people get paid a salary – a certain amount per year, divided equally across the 12 months. Others are paid hourly wages – an amount of money multiplied by the number of hours one works.
Some workers are paid in addition to their salary or wages. We might pay a tip to a waiter or Uber driver to show that we appreciate their service.
Talk Together:
- About jobs you’ve had in your lifetime. Were you paid wages or a salary? What was difficult or easy about the jobs? What did you learn through the different jobs?
- About whether your kids might have a job as teenagers. Why or why not? What types of jobs can teens have?
- About why some jobs have higher salaries or wages than others. What are some jobs that might not pay much that are very important to our society?
2 – Money shows what we think is important. Most of us aren’t billionaires, so we have to make choices! If we choose to save money for vacations, that shows we think spending time as a family and experiencing new things are important. When it comes to where we shop and what we purchase (clothing, groceries, entertainment, etc.), these choices are all fine, but in some ways indicate what we think is more important.
What does our family donate money to? Community organizations, our kids’ teams or clubs, church, colleges we attended, global organizations? All are good and all matter, but what we give to and perhaps which ones we give more to than others show what is important to us.
Talk Together:
- What are things our family chooses to buy more and less expensively because of where we shop or the brands we buy? Why?
- What/Who does our family donate money to? Why? Are there some things we donate more to than others? What do our donations say about what’s important to us?
- If you had $3000 to donate to 3 different organizations, which ones would you pick and how much would you give to each?
A prayer for parents (by Kayla Craig):
Lord, how do we raise children who are not led by our culture’s values about what we consume, and how much of it we consume, and how fast we consume it? [You have required us] to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with You. Forgive us when we have forgotten this and walk beside us as our children watch our journey of a life lived with You.