Is it time to talk to our children about money? Osper feedback thread, non-attendees chance to win £75 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

On Monday 16th February, 10 MNers and their child(ren) aged 8-15 attended a workshop hosted by Osper.

Osper, who offer a prepaid Debit Card for 8-18's with a mobile banking app for the family, are exploring the need to talk to our children about money.

Check out the video from the event day here:

Non-attendees, for a chance to win £75 in Amazon vouchers, how can you spot when it's the right time to talk to your child about money? Add your comment to this thread and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win £75 to spend at Amazon.

Attendees please share your responses to the following questions:

Having attended the workshop, do you think it’s important for us to talk to our children about money?

What was the most surprising thing you heard on the day?

What advice would you give to other parents on talking to their kids about money? How can they spot when it's the right time?

What did you and your children make of Osper? Do you think getting children an Osper card is a good way to start a conversation about money?

Please add your comment by 06-03-2015. Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Thanks
MNHQ

PS If your child already has an Osper card, or if you got one at the event, they've love to know how you and your child are getting on with it - in terms of spending and in terms of managing it online. Please add your thoughts below

Not Attended

I think it is never to early to teach children the value of money, my 6 year old has had pocket money for the last 2 years and knows that when he has spent that he can't have any more and will save up his pocket money to buy what he wants if it is more than he has got.

Never too early - make sure you set a good example and the children very quickly pick up on money saving habits etc

sorry random, and bigger than the topic, thought but children are kind of like apprentices. they should be shadowing your life. that means being a kind of open and teaching book and example in all areas. somewhere we've gotten into this ooh that's not for children, nor is that, oh that's for this age and that's for that kind of mentality or oh children should do that at school etc.

or children shouldn't be subjected to the supermarket or the bank or whatever other seemingly mundane life activity.

but in the same way they learn to speak from being around speaking, primarily their caregiver speaking....?

money, finances, planning, budgeting etc is the same.

the idea of 'when' and 'talking to your children about' is a bit of a misnomer.

Non attendee
You start talking to them as soon as they're old enough to play shop, or to want to buy things! Its so important that they learn early that things don't come for free and how the world works! It needs to be part of growing up, and by continuing to teach them you're teaching them to stand on their own two feet and be responsible. Everything they can learn from you is a bonus, and then they can go out there into the big wide world, ignore everything you've tried to teach them, make a massive mess of everything, and then learn all over again for themselves the hard way hahaha!

Non attendee here.

I think, like most things, as soon as children are old enough to have simple conversations you can introduce subjects in an age-appropriate manner.

We have probably talked with DS about money since he was 3 or 4 - the reason we go out to work, the reason why we can't buy anything we want, the need to pay the mortgage/bills/food/clothing, the fact that you have to make choices about what you spend.

For birthdays he often gets vouchers and money and we try to encourage him both to spend some of it and put some in his bank account. He knows he has a bank book and enjoys going to pay his money in and see how much he has! Equally, I think it's just as important to learnt to spend wisely - understanding that 'when it's gone it's gone' is much easier to teach when it's their own money.

The thing that I find most difficult is that we get a lot of things online - to a child it looks like magic - order on the iPad and parcels arrive without any money changing hands!

Non Attendee

I knew it was the right time when every other phrase was 'Can I Have?'. WE then set down simple rules that if you wanted to spend it - you had to earn it, and if you had to earn it and it was expensive you had to save it! I think in many ways this helped as we were in Germany for many years therefore if the children wanted something that we could only purchase in the UK they had to wait until we went home.

Saying that - my son (eldest) still seems to think that money grows on trees. He has a bank account, and often he has emptied it. His birthday money he spent in the space of an hour and it seems no matter what we say, he just doesn't seem to understand saving (although he is autistic I think it's more peer pressure)

My DD on the other hand is the complete opposite. She will ask for chores to earn money and when her birthday/Xmas money goes in the bank she will have a small splurge and save the rest. She is very conscious of the cost involved in days out/meals etc and will always try to find a cheaper option. In her own words last week 'I learnt it from you mum, I do listen you know'. This does make me and DH more inclined to lend her money or pay her chores in advance as we know that she will pay us back.

when they start asking you for money too often, then it's useful to teach them how to manage with limited funds.

When you burn £50 in front of them and their say "Don't do that that's my £50 note"

Non Attendee

If more parents learned to say to their kids from the earliest age
no, we cannot afford that
then there would be less debt, less pester power and more happy families.
If you cannot be honest with your kids, then bigger problems will ensue.

I am lucky in that I'm self employed so discussions about income happen in the house
rather than parent walks out of the house, money magically lands in the bank at the end of the month

the sooner children learn that plastic cards do not make money,
they just move it from one place to another
the better

Non-attendee

I think as soon as your child starts to want things that they see in the shops, you can introduce the idea of money. Saying for example, you have £10 birthday money, so you can either buy xxx or you can buy yyy and zzz.

I'd say start early with little things and keep a savings account for children so they can watch money grow!

I had a money box from a very young age. My mum taught me to save my money if I wanted anything. She explained why we could not afford things I asked for all the time and it helped me appreciate the value of money from a young age.

Non-attendee
Mine are 2 and 6. No pocket money but we do talk about money. Earning pennies to pay the bills, playing at shops and I also encourage them to pay for things when we go somewhere. Using cash is important so they learn when they give something they don't get all of it back and to see if they are getting the right change. Cards are not good at teaching children about money as they can't see visibly what they are spending. Even the banks don't have bank books anymore - I've had to make my own to teach them about savings and interest rates. As they get older we talk more about choices i.e. if you buy this you can't have that to ensure they think about how they are spending their money.
I've even been told not to work more as they are willing to give up things because they want to spend time with me which is really sweet.

The 'right' time for us has been as & when they start asking about anything to do with money. It started in KS1 with the basics and as DS has gone through KS2 he's seen comments about things like interest on savings and loans so we've explained it in gradual stages (sometimes several times over!)

I have vivid memories of having my own bank account when I was little, saving money, and then the treat of withdrawing some when (for example) we went on holiday. So I am keen my daughter learns early on about money. She has her own piggy bank at the moment, and then I plan that it's an "everyday" thing to learn about as she goes rather than having a big discussion.

Non attendee.

Talking about money/budget should be part of everyday life/conversation. I didn't do this with my eldest (21) and, although I have been trying to help her for the last few years, she is a nightmare with money.

She does not budget properly and is always asking to be bailed out-£5 here, £10 there and it all adds up.

She is expecting her first baby in a few months and I really worry about hers (and her partners) ability to prioritise and budget. I will not be making the same mistake with my two youngest (7 and 19 months)

It's an evolving thing for me, first my lad was interested in coins/notes that I had so a bit of a game to identify which were which and then as he's got more aware of the cost of different things then playing shop etc.. and getting the understanding of how much things cost and where that money comes from is continuing now.

I think there never is a 'right time' I think it is never too early starting from a young age means they'll know more when they are older!

how can you spot when it's the right time to talk to your child about money?

As so many others have said, it's an ongoing conversation from when they first start having any money of their own, probably around KS2 age for most. It's everyday conversation, as well as basic maths practice when you are shopping, and comparing prices, or going into one shop and not another.

It's why we gave ours pocket money from when they were old enough to be able to do the maths - to learn about the value of saving vs the thrill of buying instantly, but then not having anything 'put away' when something came up later. To learn about how you can get books cheaply from charity shops or fetes, or even free from the library, rather than paying ££ from a bookshop. To learn that if you buy a pack of sweets from the supermarket, you will get FAR more than if you buy them individually 'on site' anywhere such as cinema. etc. etc.

It's why we encouraged them to do grotty jobs for minimum wage, so they realise how many hours they had to do at that, just to buy one driving lesson / concert ticket / night out 'clubbing'.

All that said, I don't think children should have to take on board your money worries as adults, and think it's right those conversations are private, and the dc shouldn't be taking on the burden of their parents financial issues.

Having attended the osper event its made me realise exactly how important it is to talk about finances to the children. We do bury our head in the sand a bit and this has brought it to the forefront of our minds.
I'd advise families to talk about responsibility with money as soon as possible. Managing their pocket money or holiday money helps to provide experience and responsibility with money and conversations could naturally evolve!
The most surprising thing on the day was how clued up the children were about finances & banking.
We shall be signing up to osper. The kids are very very keen and we've had a long think and talk about it and are convinced it could be a really responsible thing to do.
We had a great time & the children have told everyone we've met since about the osper card.

Non- attendee

When they are old enough to save and budget. Also, it is important to tell them that money and things do not equate to happiness

Attendee - DC aged 11 and 9

I think it's really important to talk to children about money. It's very easy to shield them from money and try and avoid 'worrying' them - but I think they need to know life is about choices. They can choose to save or spend, they can choose to work hard or not. It's only be talking about these choices that children will learn how to manage their own money when the time comes.

I think the most surprising thing I heard on the day was that a child as young as 8 could have an Osper card. Having thought about it though it could work as the child would obviously be with an adult and supervised she using it.

With regard to advice for other parents, I think you can build conversations about money into everyday life and you don't need to have a 'special' conversation. It's very natural to look at the prices in the supermarket and work out which is the best deal - and it's good for maths as well. I think it's also good to explain what tax is and help children understand that things like schools, hospitals and the police are paid for by everybody!

We liked the idea of Osper and are probably going to activate it for our DD aged 11. It will work for her she goes to 2ary school in September. DS aged 9 seemed a bit nervous though so I think we'll not do it for him.

Its always appropriate to talk to your child about money - it should be an organic process from as soon as they're able to play shops. When you're shopping, when you're saving - why you're buying what you're buying etc. My children have received money as gifts since they were about 6 or 7 years old & I guide them how to administer that money. I have one hoarder and one spender - but my approach has been the same, but I have to encourage one to save more than the other.
My 11 yr old went to the shops the other day with her friends and they all took some money with them for sweets. One of them managed to spend over £10 on sweets - while my daughter (who is very aware of the value of money) decided to detour the entire party via Aldi where she knew she could get a bag of buttons, which was all she wanted, for 35p and she pocketed the rest of her spends!

non attendee

Its never too early to teach kids about money

i think financial chat is essential to children once they know what money is about my son was about 5 when he realised that he wanted to buy something but did not have enough money so the chat was that if he wanted to buy something he would have to save for it and also once he had money and had spent it that was it it was gone and mummies purse was not a bottomless pit and he soon learned that he had to choose between saving for something big or spending on sweets and comics it was then that we introduced him to a bank account of his own to put money away for when he is bigger and he wants to save for a blue car so puts some christmas and birthday money in every year