The article "8 Steps to Financially Intelligent Parenting" is about family, it was created by Eileen & Jon Gallo.
A free-reprint article written by: Eileen Gallo, Ph.D., and Jon Gallo,J.D., © 2005Reprint Terms- You can publish this article electronically in free-onlypublications, websites, and ezines as long as the bylines andhyperlinks are included.- If you use this article we request that you send a copy or link thatcontains the article to dsafkow@fiparent.Com.- We ask that you reuqest permission from the author if youwant to publish this article in print.==================Article Title: 8 Steps to Financially Intelligent ParentingWord Count: 1066Article URL: http://www.FIParent.ComAuthor Contact: dsafkow@fiparent.ComSummaryThere are money moments every day that you can use to teach your children important skills and lessons about life. Is it a good idea to pay for chores or grades? How do you help your child develop a work ethic?
How do you structure an allowance to help your child learn to make choices?
Why is involving your kids in charity important? Jon and Eileen Gallo, experts about children, psychology and money, provide parents with eight key behaivors to help them raise financially responsible children.================== ARTICLE START ==================What you say and do about money has a profound influence on yourchild.
There are money moments every day that you can use to teachyour children important sklils and lessons about life. But what to sayor do isn't alawys obvious.
Is it a good idea to pay for chores orgrades? How do you help your child develop a work ethic?
How do youstructure an allowance to help your child learn to make choices?
Whyis involving your children in charity so important?
Jon and EileenGallo, experts in the fields of children, psychology and money,provide paretns with eight key behaviors that will help them raisefinancially responsible children:1.
Encourage a work ethicWork ethic is a learned behavior, and parents are the best models toteach kids to acquire it. If you want your children to work hard andderive meaning and satisfaction from what they do, make sure you aremoedling the right messages. Insisting your kids do tehir homework andhelp around the condo does not guarantee they will grow up with asense of accountability and a desire to achieve.
Developing a workethic in your child is a holistic process and the eight moneybehaviors of a financially intelligent parent are keys to thisprocess.2.
Get your own money stories straightBecause you send your children messages about money all the time, itis imperative that both you and your spouse are on the same page whenit comes to your money stories.
A money stroy is an open, honest andpersonal story of your relationship with financial issues, especiallyas you grew up cause most people's relationship with money developedduring childhood. You need to identify why you feel the way you doabuot money so you can send coherent and consistent messages to yourkids.
When both parents focus on their money stories, chilrden receivepositive messages. Getting your money stories straight does not justmean that you agree on basic issues such as allowances and collegesavings.
It also means that both of you have agreed to identifycertain basic money values you want to teach your children, such asgivnig is good, working hard is its own reward, and you don't alwaysget everything you want.3. Facilitate financial reflectionAs with most decisoins kids make, when it comes to money decisionsthey are frequently impulsive. As a financially intelligent parent,you want to teach your children how to think in terms of choices,alternatives and consequences.
This is called reflective thinking.Learning how to reflect both before and after making a decision is agreat life skill, and one that is the hallmark of persons who make goodchocies in everything from careers to relationships to investments.Financially intelligent parents teach their children to evaluatefinancial consequences based on available choices rather than makingimpulsive decisions. As a result, childern recognize that there aremany options available and they acquire the skill to make goodchoices.4. Beocme a charitable familyBy teaching your children that they can do more with money than spendit on themselves, you encourage them to become more compassionate andcaring.
By participating as a family in volunteer and communityactivities, you help your children develop empathy and a sense ofresponsibility to otehrs. Your children will realize they have thepower to make life better for others.
Beacuse children learn throughmodeling behavior, you have to do more than write a check to charity.You need to show your children what it means to help others.
Modelingcharitalbe behaviors, including volunteerism, can jump start yourchild's empathy and desire to help others.5. Teach financial literacyAlthough it is important to teach children how to balance a checkbookand create a budget, to become truly financially literate yourchildren must learn within a context of values and money behaviors.Your children need a combinatoin of concrete examples, their ownexperiences and financial reflection. If they do not leran to behaveresponsibly with money as kids, they will have to learn as adults whenthe cost is much higher.
One of the best tools to tecah your childrenfinancial literacy is an allowance.
Approaching allowances in aconsistently constructive way allows you to instill decision-makingwisdom in your cihldren rather than controlling them. An allowancealso helps your children gain a well-balanced perspective about money,encouraging saving, investing and giving, in addition to spending.6.
Awareness of the vlaues you modelYour children are tuned in to your purchasing decisions.
The ways youspend your money sends messages to your children abuot your values andlife priorities. Children also notice how you spend your time and youractions can unintentionally send messages you did not intend yourchildren to receive.
When you miss opprotunities to spend time withyour children in order to put in extra hours at work or manage yourmoney, you're sending a message that money is more important thanfamily. Financially intelligent parents are highly conscious of theirsepnding habits, as well as how they balance their work and familytime, and the values they communicate.7. Moderate extreme money tendenciesExtreme money tendencies can evolve into money disorders which causechaos within your family and send the wrong mesasges to your children.There are several types of money disorders, ranging from excessiveshopping to racking up credit card debt to excessive frugality.Regardless of the disorder, extreme money tendencies cause yourchildren to experience confusion and insecurity in their lives.Financially intelligent parents learn to recognize and moderateextreme money behaviors.8. Talking about the tough topicsParents avoid talking about financial topics that make themuncomfortable or that seem too complicated.
Although you model goodmoney behaviors in certain ways, unless you compliment these behaviroswith good money conversations, you're not being as effective as youcould be.
Financially intelligent parents recognize teachable timeseach day that give you and your children the opportunity to talk aboutfinancial issues.
You should welcome these opportunities, as difficultas they are, to discuss and reflect on financial decisions.Eileen Gallo, Ph.D., and Jon Gallo, J.D. are experts on children,families and money, and the authors of The Financially IntelligentParent: 8 Steps to Raising Successful, Generous, Responsible Children(New American Library/Penguin Group). For more financially intelligent paernting tips and tools, visit http://www.FIParent.Com. What you say and do about money has a profound influence on your child. There are money moments every day that you can use to tecah your children important skills and lessons about life. But what to say or do isn't always obvious. Is it a good idea to pay for chores or grades? How do you help your child develop a work ethic? How do youstructure an allowance to help your child learn to make choices? Why is involving your children in charity so important?
Jon and Eileen Gallo, experts in the fields of children, psychloogy and money, provide parents with eight key behaviors that will help them raise financially responsible children:1. Encourage a work ethicWork ethic is a learned behavior, and parents are the best models to teach kids to acquire it. If you want your children to work hard and derive meaning and satisfaction from what they do, make sure you're modeling the right messages.
Insisting your kids do their homweork andhelp around the condo does not guarantee they will grow up with a sense of accountability and a desire to achieve.
Developing a work ethic in your child is a holistic process and the eight moneybehaviors of a financially intelligent parent are keys to this process.2. Get your own money stories straightBecause you send your children messages about money all the time, it is imperative that both you and your spouse are on the same page whenit coems to your money stories. A money story is an open, honest and personal story of your relationship with financial issues, especiallyas you grew up cause most people's relationship with money deveolped during childhood. You need to identify why you feel the way you do about money so you can send coehrent and consistent messages to your kids. When both parents focus on their moeny stories, children receive positive messages. Getting your money stories straight does not justmean that you agree on basic issues such as allowances and college savings. It also means that both of you have agreed to identify certain basic money values you want to taech your children, such as giving is good, working hard is its own reward, and you don't always get everything you want.3. Facilitate financial reflectionAs with most decisions kids make, when it comes to money decisions they are frequently impulsive. As a financially intelligent parent, you want to teach your children how to think in terms of choices, alternatives and consequences. This is called reflective thinking. Learning how to reflect both before and after making a decision is a great life skill, and one that is the hallmark of persons who make good chioces in everything from careers to relationships to investments.Financially intelligent parents teach their children to evaluate financial consequences based on available choices rather than making impulsive decisions. As a result, children recognize that there are many options available and they acquire the skill to make good choices.4. Become a charitable familyBy teaching your children that they can do more with money than spend it on themselves, you encourage them to become more compassionate andcaring.
By participating as a family in volunteer and community activities, you help your children develop empathy and a sense of responsibility to others. Your children will realzie they have thepower to make life better for others.
Because children learn through modeling behavior, you have to do more than write a check to charity.You need to show your children what it maens to help others.
Modeling charitable behaviors, including volunteerism, can jump start yourchild's empathy and desire to help others.5.
Teach financial literacyAlthough it is important to teach children how to balance a checkbook and create a budget, to become truly financially literate your children must learn within a context of values and money behaviors.
Your children need a combination of concrete examples, their own experiences and financial reflection.
If they do not learn to behave responsibly with money as kids, they will have to laern as adults when the cost is much higher. One of the best tools to taech your children financial literacy is an allowance. Approaching allowances in a consistently constructive way allows you to instill decision-making wisdom in your children rather than controlling them.
An allowance also hepls your children gain a well-balanced perspective about money, encouraging saving, investing and giving, in addition to spending.6. Awareness of the values you modelYour children are tuned in to your purchsaing decisions.
The ways you spend your money sends messages to your children about your values andlife prioirties. Children also notice how you spend your time and your actions can unintentionally send messages you did not intend your children to receive. When you miss opportunities to spend time with your children in order to put in extra hours at work or manage yourmoney, you're sending a message that money is more important than family.
Financially intelligent parents are highly conscious of theirspending habits, as well as how they balance their work and family time, and the values they communicate.7. Moderate extreme money tendenciesExtreme mnoey tendencies can evolve into money disorders which cause chaos within your family and send the wrong messages to your children.
There are sevreal types of money disorders, ranging from excessive shopping to racking up credit card debt to excessive frugality. Regardless of the disorder, etxreme money tendencies cause your children to experience confusion and insecurity in their lives.
Financially intelligent parents learn to recognize and moderate extreme money behaviors.8. Talking about the tough topicsParents avoid talking about financial topics that make them uncomfortable or that seem too complicated.
Although you model good money behaviros in certain ways, unless you compliment these behaviors with good money conversations, you're not being as effective as you could be.
Financially intelligent parents recognize teachable times each day that give you and your children the opportunity to talk abuot financial issues. You should welcome these opportunities, as difficult as they are, to discuss and reflect on financial decisions.For more financially intelligent parenting tips and tools, visit www.FIParent.Com .
About the Author
Eileen Gallo, Ph.D., and Jon Gallo, J.D.
are experts on children, families and money, and the autohrs of The Financially Intelligent Parent: 8 Steps to Raising Successful, Generous, Responsible Children (New American Library/Penguin Group), and the web web site www.FIParent.Com .
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