This was during the 1960s. Just ten years later, when I went to college to study art (my rebellion over marriage and typing), the environment had totally changed. I could do anything I wanted - every field was wide open. Women were still fighting low pay scales, but doors that were previously shut and locked were now open to us.

My daughter doesn't understand what it was like to have these barriers. You might not understand, either, if you're only in your twenties. But we all now have one thing in common, I hope: we can do anything we want if our goals are in focus and we work toward them. This is a good thing - if we really know what we want.

About 13 years ago, the way you would learn about an investment possibility was to write and request a company's annual report. After several weeks, you might receive the information via snail mail. Outside of this information and your newspaper's stock quotes or the wrap-up of the Dow in the evening news, that's all the information you had for investment research. And, you were most likely using a stockbroker to purchase the investment.

The boundaries were undeniably in place. Now we have the world at our fingertips. This is a good thing - if we really know what we want.

Whether you have a son or a daughter, learning the stock market can be a great way for a child to understand various industries available in today's workplace. We can teach our children how to think about business, and how business affects our daily lives. This education can also give them a broader view on how global industries operate. It can give them confidence in their choices and dreams for their own future.

Our first step in investing is to learn how to analyze a stock. Depending on how much time in a day you have, you can be very simple in your analysis or you can build charts, read graphs and even run down the street to have your Tarot cards read.

Cora and I like to keep it simple. If you already own or manage a business, much of the business and financial lingo will be understandable. If Market Capitalization, Value Stocks, Growth Stocks and P/E are all gibberish to you, just visit Motley Fool's Investing Basics. This one page will give you all the information you need to learn about the fundamentals.

Now, when you go to BUYandHOLD's Research Stocks channel you can begin to comprehend the tools available for research. Cora and I have used this information to decide which company we're going to "buy." I'm trying to teach her that an investment is like owning part of that business. This is called the "I Own A Company!" game.

For instance, if you take a look at the categories of stocks available at BUYandHOLD, you'll see they're divided into twelve different categories. Let your child pick one. This might tell you a bit about your child's interests, if you don't already know. Once they pick a category - say food and beverage - there's an alphabetical index of different stocks available to research within this category.

From this point, you pick a letter in the alphabet (this isn't very scientific, but bear with me). Your son's name is Quincy, for example, so go for "Q." Under "Q" you will find Quaker Oats. Under Quaker Oats, you find information that will tell you some basics about this company.

The opening page is the "Company Profile." If you go to the drop-down menu in the upper left, you also find Quotes, News, Chart, Analyst's Ratings, Message Board (this will take you to the Motley Fool), and SEC Filings. This last one is the Securities and Exchange Commission's Filings on this particular company.

When you go to the SEC Filings for a company, you usually find an Annual Report. This is what you'll need for comparisons in the company's finances between this year to last year, and all the other required filings for shareholders.

You don't have to wait. It's right here at your fingertips. If this isn't enough information about the company you're researching, you can go to the company's web site to find even more information. Once you decide this is where you want to invest your money, you announce that you now own part of this business.

It's amazing how easily a child can grasp this concept. News becomes important. Math seems to no longer intimidate them - they want to learn how the company is doing financially. They begin to understand they are partly responsible for this company's future when they buy the products or use the services of their "new business."

No telling how far this game can go. One day, Cora came home with some news from Uncle Wayne. He told Cora the company we were researching was being sued for damage to the environment. She decided to drop the research on this company, since she didn't want "anything to do with a company that polluted the environment."

What a kid. What a generation. What a way to teach our children responsibility.

Next week, we'll talk about why we might want to own more than one company. Get ready for diversification.

Until next week.

Linda Goin