5 years, the age at which children become aware of money
The money It is a very important value within families. Being a wasteful or understanding the need for savings, without falling into excessive economic selfishness, can mean the difference between arriving comfortably at the end of the month or not. Therefore, it is convenient to teach children what this resource means, it is key to their development and to be able to maintain a home when they reach adulthood.
However, at what age can these lessons begin? When does a child learn what the money and the importance of it? The University of Michigan has determined that it is around 5 years when the youngest are aware of what this resource is and begin to develop a behavior regarding it being wasteful, savers or stingy.
Money: emotion over necessity
What causes a child to develop a wasteful or stingy behavior? Could the feeling of need provoke the desire to buy or simply the excitement of acquiring something new? To answer the question, we used a sample of 255 children between 5 and 10 years old and they were subjected to a test used in adults to determine the character related to money.
The children received one dollar and they were offered the opportunity to keep it or exchange it for a toy. At the same time, they were asked several questions about spending and saving. Children who chose to get rid of the ticket and acquire the object offered answers that indicated wasteful behavior. It also remained relevant that this attitude was not caused by necessity, but by emotion.
The tests of the wasteful children showed that the expense was related to the emotion that supposed for them to acquire a new article. On the other hand, savers manifested this behavior because they manifested a less feeling of satisfaction after purchases. That is to say, it is around 5 years old when the children began to develop an attitude towards money.
In this sense, the researchers highlighted that although the attitude of their parents it did not influence the appearance of this behavior, education can play an important role. In the case of developers, parents can teach the importance of saving and that perhaps spending without control can mean that in the future there is something they really need.
On the other hand, those children who manifest a behavior Savers should receive a teaching focused on solidarity to avoid falling into selfishness. It is one thing to save money in order to get something that you want or need in the future, another to find only the satisfaction of not spending and having a great economic cushion.
Teach to save: the value of money for children
Saving is an important issue for children since it can be derived from this aspect that in the future they can cope with the family economy no frights:
- The payment. Nothing better to teach saving than to allow children to manage their expenses. A weekly or monthly pay for the children to acquire what they want to teach that sometimes it is better to save to get something better than making an immediate purchase.
- Recognize what is necessary. Parents must teach the difference between what is necessary and what is desired. Some shoes may look very nice, but if you have several pairs already at home they are not necessary.
- Take them to the purchase. Parents are examples, therefore, allowing children to attend the purchase will allow them to receive a live lesson on what the savings means by acquiring the necessary and nothing else.
- Lead by example. Children can not be asked to save when the same parents spend without conscience.
- Teach them to understand advertising. Children have to learn to watch television and face ads. Minors must understand that not everything expressed there is real and that sometimes things are promised that are not always fulfilled.
Damián Montero
