Parenting Pointers: Thinking About Money

Here's a fun exercise to get your kids thinking about money and choices. You can adjust it depending on your kids' ages. For younger kids, give them $5 or so and tell them they need to get a gallon of milk and a healthy snack. For older kids, consider giving them a budget and having them plan the meals for a week (provided they are healthy, balanced meals). The more your kids are involved in helping make the choices, they more they'll understand why you might not always get the brand-name foods or the things that aren't on sale. They'll learn that sometimes there are trade-offs between buying the chocolate milk or getting the fun snacks. And they'll get practice for when they're on their own.