Daily experiences as teaching moments

Just by taking a little extra time throughout your day, you can make many of your daily experiences into learning moments for your kids. Some examples are:

At the bank, explain what you are doing when you make a deposit or withdraw/transfer money.

When dining out, explain tipping. In the book, “Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees” by Neale S. Godfrey there is a story about a friend of hers that took his young sons across the country to visit their grandparents. When they were almost home, he asked one of the boys why he was always lagging behind when they stopped to eat. The boy told him that he had been picking up the money he had forgotten on the table. To a young child that had not been told about tipping it would look like his father had been forgetting his money.

Also when dining with older children, you can have them figure the amount of the tip. This will also let them realize what it costs to take a family out to eat.

At the grocery store you can give the child a list of items to look for. You can also have them compare prices versus brand and sizes.

When checking out, explain that you need money in your checking account when writing a check or using a debit card. If using a credit card, explain that if you do not pay off the balance at the end of the month, you will need to pay interest charges on the amount still owed.