Myth-busting episode 2: Don't talk to kids about Money
Myth 1: You shouldn't talk to your kids about money.
Until not long ago, having sex talks with children was equivalent to blasphemy. And the result - children learnt anyway, except the curiosity and unreliable ways available to them made it quite an unhealthy learning process.
The same holds true for any education, including financial education. And here, mind me, I am not talking about enrolling your 4-year old for CA or MBA-finance. I am just talking about doing the money talks - the things they need to know about money.
Fact: You shouldn't hand your kids money because they don't need it. But talking about money is important - 'coz it's a survival tool (unless you are hopeful about bringing back barter economy). The better you wield it, the less dependent you are on counting it.
Things to tell your kids about money:
Now it may be blasphemy on my part to refute the teaching of Buddha as well as other scriptures which say Desire is the root of suffering. With all due respect, how can anyone set an ambition without desiring something first? I suppose the real suffering is caused by attaching Desire with an outcome. 'Desire' coupled with detachment is the ideal state to be. So we can probably safely call 'Desire' as a necessary evil. But that's a topic for a more philosophical blog.
For now, it is important for us, parents, to objectively differentiate for our kids, the concept of Need and Desire. The same holds true for Necessity and Luxury.
Until not long ago, having sex talks with children was equivalent to blasphemy. And the result - children learnt anyway, except the curiosity and unreliable ways available to them made it quite an unhealthy learning process.
The same holds true for any education, including financial education. And here, mind me, I am not talking about enrolling your 4-year old for CA or MBA-finance. I am just talking about doing the money talks - the things they need to know about money.
Fact: You shouldn't hand your kids money because they don't need it. But talking about money is important - 'coz it's a survival tool (unless you are hopeful about bringing back barter economy). The better you wield it, the less dependent you are on counting it.
Things to tell your kids about money:
- Need Vs Desire
- Necessity Vs Luxury
- Earning Vs Entitlement
Now it may be blasphemy on my part to refute the teaching of Buddha as well as other scriptures which say Desire is the root of suffering. With all due respect, how can anyone set an ambition without desiring something first? I suppose the real suffering is caused by attaching Desire with an outcome. 'Desire' coupled with detachment is the ideal state to be. So we can probably safely call 'Desire' as a necessary evil. But that's a topic for a more philosophical blog.
For now, it is important for us, parents, to objectively differentiate for our kids, the concept of Need and Desire. The same holds true for Necessity and Luxury.
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