Advertisement
Bigger Kids

Easy activities to teach your kids money smarts

Not sure how to teach your kids about money? Start at home with these easy activities from chartered accountant Robin Taub

By Robin Taub
Easy activities to teach your kids money smarts

Ages 5 to 8

Help your kid to sort a jar of coins into different piles.

Count out five pennies and then ask her for one nickel, explaining that a nickel is worth five cents.

Ask your kid to count out an additional five pennies plus the nickel she just got and exchange it for one dime. Explain that a dime is worth 10 cents and that it is worth twice as much as a nickel.

Give your kid a quarter, explaining that it is worth 25 cents and more valuable than a penny, nickel or dime.

Advertisement

As she gets older, the games can become a bit more challenging:

Ask her what combinations of nickels and dimes she’d have to give in exchange for a quarter.

Move on to the loonie and the toonie, which are especially appealing to her because of their size, shape and colour (and their relative value).

Describe the loonie as being worth 100 cents or one dollar and challenge your kid to find different combinations of pennies, nickels, dimes or quarters that would add up to one loonie.

Ask if she can guess what the toonie is worth, based on the sound of its name!

Advertisement

Ages 9 and up

When your kids do save up to buy something with their own money, make the time to debrief about it afterwards with the following questions:

Did they think it was worth the money?

Was it worth the effort involved in earning it and saving for it?

What did they enjoy or dislike about the shopping experience?

Advertisement

What, if anything, would they do differently next time?

Excerpted from A Parent’s Guide to Raising Money-Smart Kids by Robin Taub, CA. Published by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants as part of their Financial Literacy Series. For more information, or to buy a copy, log on to CAstore.ca/moneysmartkids.

This article was originally published on Nov 25, 2011

Weekly Newsletter

Keep up with your baby's development, get the latest parenting content and receive special offers from our partners

I understand that I may withdraw my consent at any time.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Advertisement
Advertisement