The son of one of my high school classmates lost a tooth. He's similar in age to my daughter. Here's the brief exchange from my classmate and her son:
My classmate: “[Son], what do you think the tooth fairy will bring?”
Her son: “Maybe she can bring me a credit card!”
Out of the mouths of babes, huh? Needless to say, the tooth fairy did not sneak a Blue Cash® from American Express underneath his pillow. Alas, he must live within his means, as the tooth fairy only carries cash. 😉
“Way back when” I had a Fisher Price cash register with a whopping 80 cents in change. Two blue quarters, two yellow dimes, and two red nickels. No checkbooks, no ATMs, and certainly no credit cards.
Also Way Back When, Monopoly ran on cash, as did The Game of Life. Now, Monopoly's gone digital, and it's far easier to get play credit cards and play ATMs.
Being the father of a (very precocious) five-year-old I realize how carefully they scrutinize what we do as adults. They have memories like steel traps, throw our words back at us with laser precision, and mimic our actions. This isn't odd; it's just how they learn.
My classmate's son probably saw his mom use her credit card a lot, and made the association that you use a credit card to buy stuff. What her son probably doesn't see (yet) is that the bills come in and have to be paid. That happens on the back end, at some point after all of those purchases with the credit card. He saw the goods come in, but didn't see the money go out.
With his own money, though, it's a lot clearer. There's only so much of it. It's the issue that my daughter is running into now; she doesn't have enough money coming in each week (through her allowance) to allow her to buy a doll each week. She has to start waiting when the money gets low.
As parents, it really is up to us to teach our children about money. TV encourages kids to buy (well, it encourages the kids to nag their parents to get them to buy). I remember one year in elementary school getting a magazine called Penny Power that taught about checking accounts, buying wisely, and budgeting, but that was the extent of personal finance information I got in school. The rest I got from my parents, and thankfully they taught me well.
A child asking for a credit card from the tooth fairy is cute. That child growing up and getting into debt in his early twenties because they didn't learn how to handle it is not. Fortunately, there's a few years between those two points to explain the truth about credit cards. And about the tooth fairy. 😉
Great post.
It can be challenging to effectively teach young kids about money as the physicality of money (cash, coins, money in hand) transforms into something more abstract (accounts, electronic and online payments).
I agree with you about parental responsibility – it’s critical that we immerse our kids as much is practically possible into our own financial lives.
A kid wants a credit card, huh? That made me laugh and then I started thinking that it is pretty scary. Sometimes I wonder if kids realize that it is not easy to earn money, save for the future and spend responsibly. Understanding comes from family… Thoughtful post!
Brad, Aloysa: Exactly right. Parental guidance on this issue is so important.
I think we all know that young kids mimic their parents – but we forget the detail in which they watch! 😉
It’s interesting (and dangerous) that the “credit card = money = buy stuff” connection was made. Now the parents just need to fill in the details – like it isn’t free money. 🙂
Thoughtful post. I appreciated it.
I can remember when I got a dime under my pillow and thought I was rich! Now, I heard my neice got $5. Are you kidding me? I might start pulling out my own teeth at that rate.