FIVE TRICKS TO TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT MONEY

Attorney Sutton offers a brief, illustrated introduction to money and finance for adults hoping to pass on such knowledge to younger generations.

The author opens his book by pointing out that students generally receive no financial education until they reach college, despite the fact that money is a major factor in everyday life. In these pages, which feature Elmore’s full-color cartoon-style illustrations, Sutton covers the basics of how money works. He breaks his lessons down into five “tricks,” or strategies, which parents, teachers, and other caregivers can use to make financial concepts understandable to children. One trick, for instance, involves teaching kids history lessons; while telling a story of a cooper who needs to buy a cow, for example, Sutton works in mentions of fiat currency and how President Richard Nixon took the country off the gold standard in 1971: “Because of this,” Sutton writes, children should be taught that “they should own assets, like real estate, when they get older.” Another tactic he recommends is to use board games like Monopoly to teach real-life financial lessons (“The trick here is that when you pull the game out, they think that they’re only going to have fun!”). Setting up some kind of competition between siblings or friends, Sutton writes, “will teach them the importance of making smart investments by analyzing stocks.” One strategy that will occur to most readers—urging kids to set up a tiny business of their own, such as a lemonade stand—turns out to be among Sutton’s tricks, as well; he sees its value in how it demonstrates to children that hard work and ingenuity can result in sales and profits. A section on constructing a statement of profits and expenses is particularly well illustrated.

Sutton writes with an appealing directness that’s amplified by Elmore’s simple, colorful images, which show a mother, father, son, and daughter as they pursue various lessons. Many adult readers will likely benefit from basic reminders about economics and balancing elements of one’s personal finances. Readers will find the graphs and charts to be immediately accessible as well. The book’s central message—that providing early financial instruction to children is not only important, but necessary—may grate on some readers, who might see it as somewhat mercenary. Surely, some will object that teaching such kids about the cold realities of cashflow and stock market competition may rob them of some of their childhood innocence, as when the author notes the urgency of getting across to kids that “nothing is guaranteed in life.” Fortunately, Sutton’s five tricks are scalable and adjustable, and he doesn’t employ a one-size-fits-all approach for all age groups. Certainly, there’s no denying the truth of the author’s primary assumption: “They don’t teach it in school, and yet it governs our lives.” Used with care and case-by-case sensitivity, this little book could be a valuable resource for teaching youngsters about a key aspect of their future lives.

A quick and highly accessible breakdown of the basics of money for young people.