Nan Mead, director of communications for the National Endowment for Financial Education, offers parents some guidelines for teaching money concepts to children in the booklet Simple Steps to Raising a Money-Smart Child. Following are some teaching ideas based on the recommendations in that booklet:

Ages 2 to 4: Yes, even toddlers should be taught some money basics. They can be introduced to the concept of money as a medium of exchange and start learning to identify coins and cash.

Mead says it's also a good time to introduce the concept of saving. She recommends that you allow your child to save some money in a clear glass jar. (She advises against using an opaque piggy bank. Your child might think the money has disappeared if it can't be seen.) You may even help your child set small savings goals to teach that saving gets us what we want, Mead says. For example, your child might save for a box of crayons.

Parents can get their own free copy of Simple Steps to Raising a Money-Smart Child by sending a request to The National Endowment for Financial Education, 5299 DTC Blvd., Suite 1300, Greenwood Village, CO 80111.

> Back to Age-Appropriate Money Lessons