As a child, I can not exactly remember my parents discussing money with me. I got to learn how to sell and make returns as I helped in my dad’s pharmacy store. I got whatever I needed whenever I needed it, of course when my parents could afford it but it wasn’t more than that. I remember discussions about God, manners and academic grades amongst others but I don’t think there were any open conversations about money.

It’s apparent things haven’t changed with parents nowadays too; they’re waiting to have these discussions with their children when they are older. When you do this you tend to miss out on many opportunities during your child’s formative years. I know discussing money with your children might be a bit difficult for a number of reasons, especially if you are concerned about your finances yourself. You, however, need to be able to do it as it will help your child learn about money and also become comfortable with finances before they’re expected to manage their own.

Some parents may be cautious about discussing family finances with children because children are not good at keeping secrets. I remember a day I planned with my first son to keep a secret from his younger brother. In less than 5 minutes, when his brother came around he told him “We have a secret we won’t share with you”. In my very eyes, in not more than 10 minutes, he led his brother to know what the secret was. You don’t need to provide detailed information about your income or net worth to your children, especially when they are much younger.

All children need is enough information to help teach money management principles. You can also include them in meaningful family financial discussions, even at an early age. Help them to learn financial concepts like saving and budgeting, develop financial decision-making skills and form a healthy relationship with money through regular family discussions. You, however, should not give them the kind of detail that will stress them out about money. Don’t for any reason tell them a lie about money. They will sure find you out sooner than later and I’m sure you don’t want your children to be disappointed that you told them a lie. Also don’t share too much financial information that may damage your child’s self esteem. Be open enough for their age and don’t allow them to stumble on or overhear what the real financial issues are in the family as that will cause more damage.

Albert Einstein says “If you can’t explain to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself”. Improve your knowledge base in this area so you don’t fail your children in these lessons. The more vast you are in financial knowledge the less awkward it will be for you to teach kids. The fact that you were not taught in school or by your own parents is no excuse.

– Gbonjubola Sanni