Teach Your Kids about Bank Accounts

Teach Your Kids about Bank Accounts, Bonds & Stocks

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visit the bank together

Parents often complain to me that they want to teach their kids about finances and money terms, but they have no idea how to approach them. How do you help your children understand that money can be interesting, relevant and important? Try taking advantage of teachable money moments – those moments when life experiences provide opportunities for you to have a deep discussion with your teen.

Take your teen to the bank with you and introduce her to the tellers. Show her how to fill out a deposit form and wait in line. Talk about the differences between a checking and savings account. Ask her how she would use them to spend and save.

Terms to teach: Checking, savings, deposit, check

meet with your financial advisor

If you’ve got an accountant or financial advisor, does your child know about him or her? Sometimes, kids don’t realize that we all need a little bit of help and support. Tell your child that even you get help on some financial matters – that way, she’ll always feel comfortable asking questions and getting help later in life. You also want her to hear the terms you and your financial advisor use when discussing money issues.

Terms to teach: Credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, debt, loan, mortgage, stocks

“play” the stock market

I would highly recommend allowing your teen to “practice” with the stock market. Depending on your comfort level and your child’s interest, there are a few different ways you can do this. Teens have told me that doing anything with their parents is automatically “un-fun,” but they have also suggested that playing games or being strategic is an acceptable alternative. You never want to portray saving and spending money as a game, but you can talk to them about strategy and teach them important terms related to stocks and bonds.

Try picking a few stocks with a fake amount of money, and track it over a few weeks together to see the trends and patterns.

The most important thing you can do is show your teen that there’s no single “right answer.” Let them know that even adults have to do extra research, exercise caution and sometimes ask for help from an expert when it comes to money matters.