Money Doesn't Grow on Trees

I have mentioned in a previous post about the importance of teaching children about money. One of the books I found on this subject is "Money Doesn't Grow on Trees", A Parent's Guide to Raising Financially Responsible Children, by Neale S. Godfrey.

The chapters included in the book are:
1- What kind of (Financial) Personality Do you and your childred have?

2- How to Teach your Child the basics of money management

3 - When to start your child on an allowance

4- Work for pay and setting up a budget

5 - How to introduce your child to the World of Banking

6 - How to use the World as your Financial Classroom

7 - How to Explain the Terrible Ts: Tipping, taxes, Tolls, and Tickets

8 - How to Work with your Teenager on Money Management

9 - What Parents need to tell a child about their own finances

10 - How to Negotiate living with your adult Children

One thing is to explain things to your child. Things that seem simple to you do not occur to children. One story in the book is about a friend of hers driving across country with his three yound children to visit grandparents at Christmastime. During the trip, the four-year old son was always the last one out of the restaurant after each meal.

Finally, when they were almost home, the annoyed father asked his young son why he straggled behind. The youngster reached into his pocket, pulled out a handful of change and said, "Because I have to go back and check the table to see that you haven't accidentallly left your money behind."

After the waves of anger and humiliation left my very proper friend (he was tempted but refrained from driving back to each restaurant to make reparations), the father realized that, to a child the routine act of leaving money on the table would appear to be extreme carelessness.