Teaching children about money

A little while ago, R asked me where I can keep my money. I explained to her that it was kept in a bank account. R has seen my pay for things in the shops with both money in note and coin form, but also with my bank card. I could see that R was trying to digest the information I’d just given her about bank accounts, so I thought a visual aid and perhaps a game would help. 

Using Lego I made R and M their very own ‘bank accounts’. I divided a Lego board in two and then we used some real coins to fill up their bank accounts. 

I then gave R and M a card each which was to be their bank cards. 

The girls have a toy shop, so we used the shop to act out our game. I was the shop keeper and the girls were my customers. They took it in turns to buy things from the shop, and with each purchase they gave me their card to pay.

If they bought something from the shop for £3, they’d move three coins from their bank accounts to the shop till. 

We did this a few times until they got the hang it. I explained that when you pay for something on a card, the bank then give that money to the shop. 

Before long, we realised that the girls had run out of money in their bank accounts. M asked me how they could get more money, so I asked them how mummy and daddy get money. Both girls said that we work.

Following on from this I gave R and M jobs so that they could earn more money to go into their bank accounts. M’s job was to play me a tune on the piano, whilst R’s job was to jump on the sofa four times!

The girls absolutely loved playing this game and I think it really helped them both to understand how money and bank accounts work.

Are your children curious about money too?