How to Teach Kids about Investing

Sometimes, it can seem like the only thing your child is interested in is playing games on his tablet or texting his friends. And, while these may be the types of things that most captivate today’s youth, you, as the parent, do have some control over what your kids learn and encounter in their lives. Thus, it stands to reason that, if you want your child to grow up and be a smart, financially sound individual, you should make a concentrated effort to start teaching him or her about investing and the value of a dollar. Fortunately, no matter how young your child is, there are a variety of creative and interesting ways to  make this happen.   

Try an Investing Game

As mentioned earlier, kids love online gaming, so what better way to teach investment strategies than through the use of an online game? There are actually many websites that have investment games, including Kapitall, which is basically just like the stock market except in game-style, kid-friendly format. The site even features practice trading, as do many other similar sites. If you really want to get your kids into investing, let them try these fun games; they’ll be hooked in no time, and, unbeknownst to them, they’ll be learning in the process.

Buy Some Real Stocks

For older kids, consider letting them try out the stock market for real. Parents can easily buy their kids simple, cheap stock in kid-friendly companies like Disney or Mattel. Then, together, parents and kids can work with the shares, talk about what happens, and discuss what it all means. This is a great, fun, real-life way to get kids interested in and educated on investing, and it’s not a bad way to spend time with one another either.

Help Kids Invest in Things they Believe In

One final way to help kids learn about investment is to have them invest in something they believe in. This could be giving money in the church offering, donating to a charity, or anything in between. Let your child pick the organization and how much he or she can give. Then, together, talk about what the organization will and can do with that money and how that is a “return on investment” in a very meaningful way.

If you can follow these tips and try out these strategies with your kids, you should see them develop good investment habits by the time they reach adulthood.

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