Some parents may shake their heads when reading the title above thinking: how can you make such a boring subject fun for kids? Or you might even be wondering exactly what economics are – it’s something to do with money, right? In fact, there’s a lot more to it. Economics is a field that deals not only with money, but also with goods and services, from production to distribution to consumption. It can also relate to the financial prosperity of an individual, group, or nation. It concerns how material wealth is developed and managed. That’s a lot to think about, and a lot to teach your kids. And of course you want to do it in a way that is not only relevant, but also fun. So here are a few ways to get your kids on board with economics and possibly even learn something new yourself.
Before kids can understand economics they need to know the basics of handling money. And even small children can have fun learning about currency. A fun way to help your children become familiar with different denominations of coinage and paper money is to get an app for your smart phone. Both the iTunes store and the Android marketplace have coin counter games to help you get started and later you can find apps that will allow your kids to track their “piggy bank” and set a budget to save for future purchases. You can follow up with board games like Monopoly, where good money-handling skills and a sound financial strategy are essential.
Of course, once your kids are well-acquainted with money, it’s time to start giving them some of their own. The best way to teach kids the basis of any economic system is to start them off with earning, saving, and spending money. So set them up with chores and start giving them an allowance. Treat it like a real job; if they don’t perform, they don’t get paid. Take them to the bank and help them set up savings accounts. Sit down and formulate a budget so that they can have a little spending cash, sock some away for that special Barbie or Nerf weapon, and possibly even donate some to a charity of their choice. Teaching your kids how to handle money responsibly from a young age is essential to building a solid understanding of an economic system. Teach them that earning money is fun!
At some point, however, you’re going to have to broaden the view. Luckily, there are always real-world examples to help you out, both in your local community, the country, and the global economy. For example, we are currently in a recession, which you can discuss with your kids. Housing prices were high until the market lost faith in the value of the secondary mortgage market, dumped shares, and devalued the entire system, leading to financial collapse, job loss, and ultimately, the sorry state our economy is in today. Okay, that might be a bit much for most kids to understand. If you want to start with something a little easier, turn to the silver screen.
There are tons of movies that showcase monetary economics, and you can use them to illustrate specific principles to your children, such as how banks operate (Mary Poppins, where a lesson in finance spurs a bank run), how investing works, or sometimes doesn’t (Wall Street), the basics of supply and demand (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory), and even insider trading (Trading Places). Some of these are geared more towards teens, but you get the idea. You can use all kinds of media to illustrate the economic principles you want to teach your kids in order to make the process more fun.
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