LE$$ON$ FOR THE YOUNG.

• Author: Lee, Sunny Istar
• Position: Family Finance

"... Kids eventually grow up and become adults with adult problems. Wouldn't it be better if they were able to face that grown-up life head-on with financial savvy?"

DO YOUR CHILDREN understand how to manage money and how to take financial responsibility for their actions? If they are being truthful, the answer from many parents will be, "No." That could be a problem: try to imagine what the future will be like for grown-up children who do not understand the value of money or such basic finance concepts as what it takes to earn money, how to save and invest it, and how to manage and share it with others.

Too often, kids become entitled, spoiled, and self-indulgent. A number of incorrect messages about money and success are influencing their minds. For instance, many individuals expect the world to provide them the means they require to survive; parents usually are the ones creating these impressions, however unwittingly.

Children often nag their parents to buy them things or take them places without earning these rewards. They repeatedly ask for more and mom and dad often give in to their demands. Whether they come from wealth or poverty, these children do not understand the value of money and the need to earn their own. With this poor foundation, they easily can grow into oblivious adults who spend instead of save and make poor investment and spending choices.

Start teaching your offspring about money--today. Do not disqualify yourself because you did not study finance in school or are not confident about your own financial literacy. If you want to be a good parent to your children, that is enough. Parents are the best teachers and the most-influential role models in their children's lives, so teach, train, equip, and guide your children with confidence.

Explain to them, for instance, that "we become rich by working hard and adding value to others" or discuss the proverb, "The soul of the diligent is richly supplied." Couple these principles with basic concepts of earning, saving, budgeting, investing, managing, and sharing money for greater effectiveness. When they know how to control and manage their money, they will treat money with respect and teach their children to do the same.

The most-common cause of childhood entitlement is lack of education about money. Parents in every income bracket are guilty of this--we give children money without making them work for it, and children spend it almost immediately without any understanding of...