
Teaching kids about money and finances should start as early as possible. So many teenagers and adults are ignorant about financial matters because nobody ever sat down with them and taught them how to balance a checkbook, invest their money, use credit cards wisely, negotiate loans, and more. That’s why it’s so important that we begin talking to children about money management at a young age. Of course, the discussion must be age-appropriate. You don’t need to be discussing the pros and cons of various stock options to a four-year-old. However, there are plenty of ways you can start teaching your children about money even in preschool.
One great way is through the book, Three Cups, by Mark St. Germain (and illustrated by April Willy). It’s the story of a little boy who received a very unusual present for his fifth birthday. His gift was three ordinary coffee cups from the cupboard and an envelope with a small allowance. The little boy’s parents explained that, whenever he received money, he should divide it among the three cups, which were allotted for savings, spending, and charity. Of course, the little boy wasn’t too thrilled about his gift at first. But as the days, weeks and years passed, he learned fascinating concepts, like how the money he saved in the bank accrued interest! And that the money set aside for charity could do great things for people, which made him feel good, too. And, of course, the spending money could be combined to buy things he wanted for himself. When he graduated from high school, he was able to use the money in his savings account to help pay for college! Three Cups also includes a Parent’s Guide at the end of the book to explain how to implement the “Three Cups” system with your children.
Three Cups is a beautifully written story that entertains children, but teaches, too. My six-year-old twins really enjoyed reading this book and were very intrigued by the “Three Cups” system of money management. Since many people are facing money difficulties right now, this might even be a good system for all members of the family to share in together! It’s a gentle way to talk to kids about how times are tough without scaring them because this system empowers them to do something about it.
Visit www.3cupsbook.com to view a lovely video with pages from Three Cups. You can also order this beautiful hardcover book through Amazon (see link below) and other national book retailers. I highly recommend it.
GIVEAWAY (3 WINNERS!)
I have been blessed with THREE copies of Three Cups for three lucky readers of this blog. To enter, go to www.3cupsbook.com and then return here to leave a comment with your favorite parenting tip for teaching kids about the value of money. You must do this to enter the giveaway.
You may earn optional, additional entries by:
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Three winners will be randomly selected from the qualified comments received by Friday, March 12, 2010, at midnight ET. Please leave an email address on one of your comments if it’s not available on your Blogger profile. Winners must respond within 72 hours or another winner will be drawn. U.S. addresses only.
CONTEST CLOSED. Congratulations to our winners: "Miss" Anita, ossmcalc, and Anonymous (theyyyguy@yahoo.com)!
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of Three Cups to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided.
Thanks for the recommendation; I would love to use this with my kids when they get older (a 2 yr old and a 2 month old are probably a little young!). I signed up for the newsletter on the 3 cups website.
ReplyDeleteFavorite parenting tip:
This is tough. I guess it would be to teach by example. My parents taught us many money lessons, including getting us a savings account when we were young, but the thing that really sticks with me is how I saw them deal with money on a daily basis.
I used play money (bills AND coins). I would take small items from around the house, such as: a toy car, a pencil, a bouncie ball, a stuffed animal, and a book. I would lay them out on the table and put a "price tag" on them (piece of paper). At first I would ask him to give me the price of the item (so he would learn how to use the values correctly). As he got that down, I'd "pretend" he'd have $X in his pocket/wallet, what could he buy? And ask my son to give me the money for the toys he was able to purchase. He liked to "play" the game.
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I signed up for the Three Cups newsletter.
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I listed Susan Heim on Parenting as one of my Favorites on Technorati.
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I subscribe to Susan Heim on Parenting via email.
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I subscribe to Susan Heim on Parenting via feed.
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I think that this is an excellent way to teach children how to manage their money at a time when so many in our country are having to do without basic necessities. I would like this book for my grandson as his parents are divorced, and sometimes it is a battle over who can give him something. This is why I was not able to teach my own daughter how to manage money. She knew that whenever Mom said, "No" that Dad would give it to her. I was hoping that my grandson would not be placed in that same situation.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I follow you on Twitter and tweeted about this giveaway http://twitter.com/ossmcalc/status/9688922202
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I signed up for the the Three Cups newsletter at www.3cupsbook.com.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I review the sale flyers with my 4 year old, so she is learning numbers, what things cost and what is 'a good price.'
ReplyDeleteI follow Susan Heim on Parenting through Google Friend Connect.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
As ossmcalc, I listed Susan Heim on Parenting as one of your Favorites on Technorati.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I subscribe to Susan Heim on Parenting via email.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
I subscribe to Susan Heim on Parenting via Google Reader.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
02/26
ReplyDeleteI tweeted about this giveaway http://twitter.com/ossmcalc/status/9717331852
Thank you,
Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net
My favorite tip for teaching the value of money to children is "It's not how much you have, but what you do with what you DO have that's important."
ReplyDeleteroseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
I follow you on Twitter and tweeted once for 3/1...
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roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
I tweeted once for 3/4...
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/HSBSuzanne/status/9980805265
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
Follower!
ReplyDeleteI like that the book teaches not only about money, but about compassion!
ReplyDeleteI signed up for the 3 cups newsletter!
ReplyDeleteEmail subscriber!
ReplyDelete1st tweet for 3/6...
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roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
1st tweet for 3/7...
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/HSBSuzanne/status/10132083824
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
tweet (3/9)...
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roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
I blogged about this...
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entry 1 of 3
I blogged about this...
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entry 3 of 3
I blogged about this...
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entry 2 of 3
I follow you on google.
ReplyDeletegr8kdisgr8fam at yahoo dot com
I take my children shopping with me. We bring our coupons, compare prices, decide what we need and what we want. When we are finished we look at what we have saved and then go back and use that money to purchase food for the food bank. They realize that the more they save the more they can give and that by looking at what they need and still getting a little of what they want, instead of everything they want, that they can give more to others.
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It's not how much one has, but what what does with what one has.
ReplyDeletetheyyyguy@yahoo.com