The Money Skills to Teach Little Kids
Want your kid to be good with money? Financial literacy needs to start early. These skills are a must to teach.
- Age 3: Counting, Sorting, and Exchanging
The best time to start teaching your kids about money is the age they begin to count, says Joy Liu, a trainer with the Financial Gym. Start by having them count and sort coins. Teach them to identify each coin, even if they can’t remember how much each is worth just yet. It’s also smart to set up a fake store where kids exchange money for goods, introducing them to the basics of shopping.
- Age 4: An Idea of How Money Works
Dr. Matthew Pagirsky, neuropsychologist and certified New York State School Psychologist, suggests that starting at the preschool age, parents explain to their children what’s going on when they use an ATM, write a check, use a credit card, cut coupons, or comparison shop. The goal is to introduce the idea that you have to pay money to buy goods, and that money comes in different forms.
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There are blocks. And there are puzzles. This beautiful set is a perfect blend of the two. The game helps toddlers develop fine motor skills and learn about cause and effect: put the block here, and gravity makes it fall.
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How Happy Couples Communicate
Here are three traits they all share.
1. They Do Daily Appreciations
A simple note, text message, or compliment can go a long way in a relationship. “The number one correlation with happiness in couples is the number of appreciations they give to each other,” says Jonathan Robinson, a couple’s therapist and author.
2. They Embrace the Power of the Time Out
A disagreement can go from a flare-up to a five-alarm blaze with one wrong word. To keep that from happening, couples need to know when to press the brakes. “If you see you’re getting hot and heavy and upset, use the phrase ‘red light,’” he suggests. “That’s a signal that you should take minutes to just quiet down and say nothing and calm down.By the time you’re back after two minutes, you’re more likely to be in the rational part of your brain and not be upset.”
3. They Ask Questions
Curiosity keeps couples content. Sometimes it’s just asking questions like, ‘What was the highlight of your week?’ or ‘When did you feel the closest to me this week?’ or ‘What’s something that you’d like from me?’ or ‘What’s something that would make things even better?’ Says Robinson, “Very simple questions that keep the love and understanding alive are very useful.”
Here are some more communication techniques that happy couples practice.
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