- Through play
- Around the House
- Before you go shopping
- At the Shop or Supermarket
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- Children love playing shop. Make it as real as possible, adding price tags to items to show that things cost money.
- Start showing your children the difference between coins.
Explain that two €0.5 coins = a €1.0 coin, etc.
- Using real coins will help children learn that money isn’t just play. Let them handle coins and get used to money.
- Use this as an opportunity to explain that when money is gone, you have to save up to get more. Set a budget for the play shopping trip. When it is used up you can’t buy any more, instead enjoy what you have.
- If your children watch television watch with them. Talk about adverts and explain they are not real and are trying to get you to buy things.
- Talk about what is going on around money in books, movies, or on TV with their favourite TV characters.
- Think about having a safe place for your child to keep money like a money box. Talk about why it is important to keep money safe and how we do it.
- Talk about saving – “Let’s keep the money for something we really want later! When will we have enough for it?”
- Have the children help you plan what you need to buy, for example, what you need to make their favourite meal.
- Make a shopping list together. This will help the children to focus when out shopping, and help you to talk about saving money.
- Break the list into things that you need, and things that you want, such as treats.
- Check the cupboard together and talk about how you can use what you have and save money. Eat before going out, and talk about how you can save money that way too.
- Decide whether there is anything on the list that the children are going to buy themselves from their pocket money. Talk about how much they need to bring along to buy what they need.
- Talk about how money needs to be kept safe on the trip, for example in a bag or wallet.
- Explain that shops want you to buy things and spend money.
- Make it a game to outsmart the shops and spend as little as possible.
- Point out how the shop is laid out to make you spend more, for example – children’s products are often at their eye level.
- If the children ask for things that aren’t on the list, remind them they have to stick to the list as that is what you have money for today.
- Have the children help you to find the things on the list.
- Help the children to compare prices.
- Have the children put things on the belt to keep them busy.
- Ask the children to help you to pay. If paying by cash, have them give the cashier the money.
- If paying by card, explain where the money to pay for this comes from.
- Explain about keeping money and bank cards safe.
- Get the children to help you check that the receipt is correct.
Extracted from the booklet ‘Talk, Learn, Do: Teaching your children about money’ produced by Made of Money, a project of Quaker Social Action for the Money Advice Service.