We all want our children to develop responsibility, creativity, and social skills. We want them to be kind, helpful, honest, and to refrain from asking us for money after a certain age.
Unfortunately, many of them, like us, will grow up kind, social, yet financially irresponsible adults. The worst part? It’s not for a lack of trying to be financially responsible, it’s a lack of knowing how to.
In 2016, Fortune published an article stating that 2 in 3 Americans can’t pass a basic financial literacy test. A year later, 1,100 young adults age 18-24 were asked what high school level course would benefit their life the most. More than half of them answered, “money management.” The unfortunate truth? These millennials were faced with a harsh reality. What they learned in school didn’t prepare them for a life of financial stability. In school, they learned economics, algebra, geometry, and chemistry. They didn’t learn business or financial management.
So, why aren’t we teaching our youth principles such as accounting and financial literacy? I’m not sure we have a good reason not to.
According to a virtual environment study children who learn about business also learn self-sufficiency, exercise creativity and develop social skills (Pereira et al 2009). Interestingly enough, it appears we can’t start too early. Studies show that the tenets of bartering are learned as early as infancy; demonstrated by babies’ ability to solicit emotional rewards such as hugs and kisses in exchange for sounds and expressions. (Yes, those cute giggles are a form of baby currency!) As they get older, toddlers demonstrate innovation and enterprise when they push boundaries, imitate their surroundings, and again barter with authority figures for sweets and toys.
Every day kids prove just how ready they are to learn practical life skills like business and financial literacy, and it is our job to help them do just that. You may not have to provide them with in-depth knowledge of business and financing, but you can teach them the basics of business management, funding, loan appeal for a business term loan or commercial property mortgage, budgeting, money management, etc. Besides these, you may also have to update their knowledge base in terms of technological solutions that are being used in the current times to grow any business. For instance, you have to teach them the importance of social media for attracting customers. Likewise, you might have to enlighten them on how to retain consumers by providing them with good customer support (which, by the way, can be done using the Zendesk chatbot).
Keep in mind that all these lessons can ensure your kid is ready to take on the world with an understanding of how to tackle hindrances in every stage of life.
Later in life, if your child decides to pursue another career line, for instance, be an engineer or go for a law career, be supportive of that and encourage them by giving them useful advice, prep books (you can check out a few great books online to suggest), etc.
Whatever they decide to do with their lives, know that the knowledge of how to do a business will never go to waste; it will always help them to grow in their career. Business is integrated into every aspect of our personal and professional lives. Knowing useful information about the business world would help them in the future if they ever decide to make a career transition or start their own company.
Concepts like financial literacy and marketing (click here to meet the experts from this field) shouldn’t be reserved for business majors and MBAs; you market yourself when you go on a job interview and you need knowledge of financial management to pay your bills on time and manage your money. If we are honest, wouldn’t you rather see a doctor with a knowledge of business run a hospital rather than a businessman with zero knowledge of medicine?
After all, no one ever regrets knowing how to run a business or balance a checkbook. They regret not knowing.
Urina Harrell
Co-Founder, Vox Pop Kids LLC
CEO of Vox Pop Branding
About Urina Harrell
Urina is the Founder and CEO of Vox Pop Branding, a boutique marketing agency that helps small businesses and nonprofits improve their digital presence online through what she calls human-centric marketing. She is also the co-founder of Vox Pop Kids LLC, a company that creates educational materials and workshops teaching kids as young as elementary and pre-school the fundamentals of financial literacy and business.
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