How do I teach my 6 year old daughter about money?

Question

My daugther has this really cavalier attitude about money. Her attitude is that if she ruins her clothes or breaks a toy, it's okay, we'll just buy her a replacement. I'm thinking of having her buy her own toys, the only time my husband or I will buy her toys is for birthday's, Christmas, etc. And I'm thinking of also having her pay for her own fast food if she requests we go out to eat, she's always wanting Burger King. Would that be too harsh? I want her to learn how to be responsible about money, but I don't want to make her resentful. Does anyone have any opinion on my ideas and/or any other helpful tips? Thanks in advance.

I got some great tips. Thanks to everyone who answered. Punk Princess, I agree with you, many of these people are seriously understimating just how much a 6 year old knows, understands and is capable of.

Answer 1

I think that most kids this age do not have a concept of how hard it is to get money. I think that maybe if she were a little older, then maybe making her pay would help her understand, but at this age, it may just confuse her. I would put my foot down about ruining clothes and toys. Once she sees that she isn't getting the replacements,maybe she might start taking better care of her stuff.

Answer 2

How about if she breaks a toy you throw it away or hide it...shell start to see her toys diminishing and pretty soon she wont have toys. She can try to earn it back by doing chores. New clothes you cant really get around. Maybe go to a second hand kids store (Kid to Kid or Once Upon a Child around here)...they sell really nice gently used clothes, you could buy those for play. My daughter plays like a little boy, shell ruin her new clothes and shoes too. So, I dont allow her to play in her nice clothes, I make her change into "play clothes"...ones I dont care if she destroys. As far as fast food goes...if you dont want her to eat there, just tell her no. Making her learn the value of a dollar isnt a bad thing at all. Have her do little chores for a price like cleaning her room, or dusting the coffee table and even helping you with the dishes. She will start to gain a lot of confidence and be really proud of herself when she sees what she is accomplishing. If you do have her do chores remember that she is just a kid, and she may not do it to your liking. So even if it isnt PERFECT give her a lot of praise and dont mention she missed a spot or the magazines on the table werent put in the right order. Obviously the older she gets the more emphasis you will put on doing the job the right way.

Answer 3

Aside from all the great tips before this one, I also would like to add that a 6 year old knows more than they let on. As a mother of 3 grown children, I've taught my kids the value of money by not just handing over an allowance each week, but by allowing them the benefits of "working" for this allowance. Even at a young age, there are plenty of chores around the house that even a 6 year old can do, for instance, picking up her toys when she's finished playing with them, helping you around the house with little things such as helping you set the table, etc. You know what she's capable of in most instances, and sometimes they can surprise you. What I did was place a calendar in view and at the end of each day if the chore was completed or something was accomplished, they would get a star for the day. At the end of the week, I added up the stars, and each star was worth something, like a quarter or fifty-cents...whatever you decide, and that's what she was "paid". Then when she wanted to buy something, she had to make sure she had that amount or she couldn't buy it. It's a tough lesson, but well worth it.

Answer 4

Give her chores and pay her an allowance if she does her chores. Then make her put half of it into a piggy bank and let her have the other to spend but make her accumulate like $20 before she spends it and with that she can replace the toys she breaks and pay for her eating out. Replace the clothes she intentionally tears up. It will be her money and the part she saves you can buy saving bond with it then when she is a teen she will have money for her own car that she will want. I will teach her the value of money and the value of saving part of your money aside for emergancy's . I have seen too many children think that they need to spend their money right away or it will burn a hole in their pocket. They never have any money accumulated for emergency. That is who some of the families in New Orleans could not evacuate because it was the end of the month and they had no money.

Answer 5

I know everyone says allowance. In my opinion this does NOT help. Try this:
Give your daughter a commission for every chore she has at home ($ 1.00/wk for making her bed every day, $ 1.00 for cleaning her room, etc).
Use these rules:
She must give 10% away (to church or a favorite charity) learning that others have needs beside her
She must save 50% (for a big toy or something special she wants--you may want to match her dollar for dollar) in a glass jar so she can see her savings grow
She can spend 40% any way she wants but must understand that when her money is gone, its gone. Mom and Dad do NOT supplement this part at all (with the exception of pennies).
She'll learn the value of money quickly this way AND she learn the lesson for life because the rules NEVER change (even when she is a teen although the commissions and jobs increase as she gets older).
Results:
She learns the value of money
She learns not to expect something for nothing
She learns good spending habits
She learns NEVER to go into debt because if she does there is no money for the things she wants or needs. No debt is freedom.
That's a GREAT lesson to learn.

Answer 6

that is a fabulous idea but only do it for a little bit. like if she breaks a toy, then she has to earn the money to buy it back. dont make her do this her whole life... and if she just thinks that she never really liked that toy or that article of clothing so she doesnt have to buy a new one, make her buy it anyways. its the principle that counts...


I read the other responses and it seems you guys totally underestimate 6 year olds... and children in general. I have babysat many times and have a 6 year old brother and cousin that all know the value of a dollar. this womans child is no different and Im sure she can comprehend the value of earning what she wants and needs just like many other children her age.

Answer 7

Have her do some chores around the house to earn money.
Pay her each week and show her how to put 50% into savings (or a piggy bank), donate 10% and the other 40% she can spend as she wants when you go to stores or out to eat.
To use the savings money she can write down some more expensive items to work towards or just keep it in a bank account for when she is older. If you chose the second option, show her the monthly statement that it is earning interest.

Answer 8

Since she gets toys for her birthdays and Christmas, I believe she would eventually realize that she won't get anymore everytime she breaks one. She will see that her toys are slowly "disappearing", and will soon start keeping her toys in good shape.

As far as buying fast food all the time, this is what I did with my daughter. Each time I went to the mall for business, she used to always ask to go to the toy store. I told her that we would after my business but there was no guarantee that she would get anything.

She finally got it one day and she herself told me that "after I took care of my business and if I have money left, can we go to the toy store?" In other words, let your child know what has to come first and if there is anything left over for her fun then it will be possible. It will take some time but she will eventually realize it.

Also, what might be of help is give her some play money and play a game with her. Make it like her chores will allow her to make money so when she gets "paid" and wants to spend it all, let her know that if she spends it all she wont get anymore money until next "payday". Of course it would be up to the parents to set the dates for her paydays.

Answer 9

6 is young, really out of the reality phase. My mom when I was 15 and very much wanting money for this and that, no concept gave me the checkbook, the bills and asked me to pay them, then she said whatever was left I could have...I FREAKED. there was like $2.00 left! I was in such a panic, but it hit me home big time that my mom worked so hard to just pay the bills and I got a job of my own after that and quit asking her. That is too much for a six year old, but don't replace the toys, eventually she will need to learn to take care of her things not just beacuse of the expense but it is important to take care of her own things. I don't think having her pay her own way will not help her yet. Maybe set up an allowance for extra things she wants and she has to learn to work for it.

Answer 10

My son was required to put 10% of his money in the church offering plate. Then he had to put 10% in savings. This left him with 80% to spend. If he wanted something that cost a lot of money, he had to save for several weeks to have enough to buy it. If there was something we usually supplied for him (like tennis shoes, ballglove, etc) we would buy good ones. If he wanted name brand or something more extravagant, he could pay for half the cost out of his own money to upgrade. Many times he chose to go with what we purchased rather than use his own money for upgrading. Had we just bought the preferred item, he would not have learned to respect his own money. And we never gave an allowance. He was required to earn his own money. He is now 18, has a tremendous work ethic, has a savings in the 5 digits, has a new vehicle which is paid for, has bought a house to remodel, and has no debt.