Parents Should Use Summer Jobs to Teach Money Management 

May 22, 1998 

Greensboro, NC: The money that youngsters make during the summer provides an opportunity for parents to teach their children the financial facts of life, says a Cooperative Extension specialist.

"Setting a good example about money is great, but that's not enough if you want your child to handle money responsibly now and into adulthood," says Dr. Claudette Smith, a family resource management specialist with the North Carolina A&T State University Cooperative Extension Program.

Smith recommends that parents work through financial planning with their children, rather than simply lecturing to them about the importance of money management, and that summer jobs provide an ideal opportunity to do so.

"Most children learn more from experience than from lectures," said Smith. "They learn to make better choices when they are able to see the natural consequences of their decisions, and often, they begin to see that there are limits to what they can buy with the money they make. This realization may help them adjust their expectations of their parents' money."

Specific money management teaching suggestions offered by Smith include:

• discuss basic responsibilities, such as savings and taxes, associated with making and handling money.
  
• encourage children to set goals for their money and establish plans to reach those goals.
  
• have "cash chats" to discuss their progress toward their goals, but refrain from being judgmental, and don't be tempted to take over the decision-making.
  
• if a computer equipped with money management software is available, encourage your child to use it. This may stimulate them to plan and analyze how they are using their income.
  
• discuss opening a savings account. It's never too early to start youngsters thinking about saving for future needs, such as education.
  
• most importantly, be careful to practice what you preach.

"Allowing children to enter adulthood with no money skills is a big gamble, and the stakes are high," says Smith. "Children without money management skills often become adults with stifling credit problems or who suffer other types of financial stress, such as bankruptcy."

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For more information, please contact Dr. Claudette Smith, NC A&T Cooperative Extension Program, (336) 334-7956.