By the time that your child is four years old, she is ready to start learning some basics about money. But lest you think that four is too early to be learning about commerce, consider this. She will deal with money for the rest of her life, and getting started now can instill good money habits even at this young age.
What your four-year-old is capable of learning about money
While she isn’t ready for the stock exchange or international banking just yet, your four year old is the right age to begin learning about the necessity of paying for something and that this exchange means ownership.
You can expose your child to this lesson by letting her pay for small items at a store. The next time that you are ready to buy a small toy or snack, you can start this lesson. First enter the store and let your child pick something. Emphasize that she cannot open it yet, because it doesn’t belong to her. Explain that you have to give the store money if you want to own the object and bring it home. Don’t worry about reinforcing math or pricing at this point.
Next, head to the check out area. Hand your child the money and allow her to pay for the item herself. Explain that she has to wait for change and a receipt. Now the item is hers.
When you are at home, you can reinforce this lesson by pretend play. Play restaurant with play food or store with everyday objects. You can use play money or print some up yourself. Reinforce the concept that people work in jobs to earn money for the things that they want to buy.
A four year old can also do some simple jobs around the house and earn a few pennies to reinforce the concept of working for money and then exchanging it for items at the store.
One word of advice: supervise money handling by a small child at all times. Bills can be ripped and decorated and coins can be swallowed.
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