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

Non Attendee

Sadly, because money is tight, my son has had to learn that everything costs money, which is why he can't always have what his friends have. However, he is also very good at shopping and knows how to compare prices on similar products, which he really enjoys doing. He is nearly 9 and is just starting to talk about money now. I would like to give him pocket money, but he doesn't want to do anything to earn it. Which is just making me more determined that he should. It's not that I expect him to work for me, but I think he should take responsibility for small chores that are for his benefit, such as putting his washing away.

Non-attendee

I think it is important to start talking about money with children from a very young age. We fell into the trap of buying a little treat every single time we went shopping and must have spent a small fortune in the Disney Store on Disney Cars for my oldest son who was obsessed with them at the time. When our younger son started to become obsessed with moshi monsters and was pestering for us to spend £2 on a blind bag we decided it was time to give them both pocket money. They now realise that these toys aren't as cheap as they sound as they had to save up to buy them. They can earn extra money by doing chores, and they can lose money by misbehaving. They really do value their possessions more as a result of paying for things themselves and my oldest son who is now 8 no longer has the burning desire to fritter his pocket money on any old thing just for the sake of spending it as he has realised that it is better to wait until there is something he really wants and be able to buy it outright.

Think its important to teach children from a young age about being responsible for money! My son is 6 and next year i will start with pocket money! I think it's important that they do chores to earn money and realize that once it's been spent- its gone!!

when they start asking about it

I have always spoken to my children about money (what we can afford and what we can't). I've never wanted them to take what we have for granted, even to the point of explaining to them that we have to give Santa the money for the gifts he brings. I don't see why an imaginary person should take the credit for our hard work lol! I don't give my boys pocket money and they've never asked for it either but they are rewarded for their achievements. I don't give pocket money because I feel I provide everything they need already but it's also important to me that they learn to budget so I often set them the task of working out which meals we should cook for the week, set them an budget and get them to work out what we can buy. They're quite savvy and 9 and 12 and understand principles like APR and they often pick up on misleading advertising. My two love to save their money which I pay into bonds for them and they enjoy watching their nest egg grow. I don't think you can ever discuss money at an age considered to be too young.

I think as soon as you start giving you kids money then a talk needs occur, esp if they think that we will still by every luxury item for them as well as giving them pocket money. Our childrens pocket money also come with some chores, so no chores = no money!

Non-attendee

I really think it depends on the child, how mature they are, and how anxious they are in particular. No point making an anxious child even more anxious before they need to hear about it, but at the same time if that child is mature for their age they will probably be wondering about money anyway and will ask questions, and in that case I think questions should be answered truthfully (to an extent of course!)

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.

I think it is important to take about money with children as soon as possible. When I was a child i was never taught about budgeting as it just wasn't done then and now I can be a bit impulsive with my spending!

I tell my children if something is too expensive and suggest alternatives within our budget. During the school summer holidays we have red, amber and green daytrips, for instant green is the park and we can go as many times as they like, amber is for places like a farm, playcentre or the beach which are moderately priced and we can do these several times and red are the big trips to theme parks or zoos and these can only be once or twice per summer holiday.

If they ask for a DVD or game when Christmas and birthdays are not close by i encourage the kids to save pocket money and I sometimes give them chores, liking making the beds, and give them a token amount of money for completing the chores. They love it!

I think its the right time to talk about money when they are old enough to count coins and they can start to understand you use the coins to buy products and the products dont just appear

I think you should begin early and start educating you children about money when they start receiving their first pocket money. Understanding that when its gone its gone is a valuable lesson that will stand them in good stead and may be help them make wise choices in life. As they grow older this can then move on to savings and debt etc

Non-attendee

I started talking to my DCs about money when they started asking for expensive gadgets, trainers and football strip. They knew that mummy and daddy went to work but genuinely thought that you could go to the cashpoint whenever you wanted. I started giving them pocket money but they would have to pay for things like in app purchases out of that money. I think they were surprised at how quickly the money ran out - especially with nothing to show for it.
It's definitely a balance. I want them to be aware of money and how to manage it but not to worry about it.

The time when you have no money is quite a good time to explain what you cant do due to no have money

I try to talk about it hen things arise, my daughter is only 5 but when she asks for things that are very expensive we explain that. She doesn't have pocket money yet but from time to time we give her some money when going out, which she has to budget.

I hope the continual conversations will allow us to always discuss money and let her ask any questions she needs to.

I don't think it is ever too early to learn about money, we sell unwanted toys/clothes on ebay together so that we can use the money we earnt to go and buy new ones

Non-attendee - My 2 year old has a toy till & plastic coins, he's not super interested in them at the moment, but I am raring for us to play shops together! He understands about 'pennies' & sees that these can be used in exchanged for goods or experiences (rides on the Peppa Pig machine at the supermarket for example!) - I want him to be well-educated about money & savvy about his spending. So I say, the earlier you start - the better!

You start having conversations about money as soon as they are old enough to get pocket money. When my brother was young, he wouldn't put any of his money in the bank as he never thought he would see it again ;) and he is now employed as a Financial Adviser.

Non attendee:

For me the right time talking to a child about money would be as soon as they know what money actually is. It doesn't necessarily have to be a heavy talk but enough so that they have a basic idea about saving and stick with those principles growing up.

Non-attendee - I've actually been contemplating on getting those coin exchange games for my youngest at the moment. I think the best time is when they start asking about all those coins and notes in your purse lol.

I'm a non-attendee.

I personally think the best time is when they start getting pocket money as then they can decide themselves whether to save or not. It also sounds more logical as prior to that they would have no dealings with cash.

I started talking to my kids about money as soon as I started taking them shopping with me and they were able to understand me. I remember when I used to be asked why I'd choose a certain product over another when they were exactly the same (ie. different sizes of milk).

Non attendee here

I think the best time varies between each family. Some kids may find it more useful to learn about money as soon as they understand what it is, others might find it more helpful when they start getting pocket money. Personally, for me, I think it's best when they first understand what it is and would teach this alongside other values such as stealing, honesty etc.

non-attendee.

when they want to buy something and you tell them to spend money saved in a piggy bank and they realise they don't have enough to buy. This way you can explain the virtues of money

I don't think there's so much a right time, but more an ongoing openness from playing shops as young children to understanding budgeting with pocket money (earned from chores, responsibilities etc. rather than a right) and the importance of not wasting food, leaving lights on etc.

Non attendee.
I think you should talk to children about money as soon as children realise the concept and importance of money. I do often have to tell my 4 year old that he can't always have the things he asks for when we go shopping as they cost a lot of money. I try to explain that some things are more expensive than others and what this means so that he has some concept that not everything in the shop costs the same amount of money. If he's given money for Christmas then we save it until an appropriate time and help him to choose something he will enjoy as well as that represents value.

When the child asks for money s then the time to explain it doesn't grow on trees!