Parents today, whether single or married, often struggle to find time for their children. Careers are important, and the resulting cash flow is an absolute. Even if we lose our jobs or if we don't need to work for a living, our time seems consumed by other equally demanding pursuits. But, if we take a few moments from our busy lives to see the world through our children's eyes, this vision may become a habit. Time spent with this simplistic perspective is better than yoga, in my opinion.

If we use this time to interpret financial worlds for our children, we need to understand how to explain these mysteries so they comprehend the lessons. Children who cannot read think differently than our literate children and teens. One way to fathom how these non-reading children think is to imagine the difference between magic and practicality. How does this process work, and how can we use it to our advantage for financial lessons? The following steps (one for each weekday) explain some practical exercises. These steps can be printed out and tacked to the fridge door for easy reference, because these ideas also work for dinner-table protocol:

1. First, we need to understand how children learn. This process encompasses four steps, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Babies listen, and they learn to formulate the words from the sounds they hear. As our children grow older, they learn to incorporate these skills with reading and writing. When we introduce our children to the stock market, we can begin with market terms so our children learn to imitate the sounds. If you try this practice with children eating peas while sitting in high chairs, you are responsible for the results.
   
   
2. Sound disappears as soon as we speak. This is why our repetitive verbal instruction is important for children who cannot read. Although this practice begins as a necessary habit, it loses its vitality when our children become older. Our literate teens become irritated when we repeat things to them, and this is a justifiable annoyance. Teens are old enough to comprehend a verbal message the first time, even if they don't acknowledge our advice. For financial instruction to non-literate children who seem to crave our repetitive voices, we can repeat stock market terms over and over without fear.
   
   
3. Children remember ideas better if presented simply, and this process is cemented when words rhyme. The stock market nursery rhymes at "The Wall Street Poet" are fun. Even if the poems don't make sense to our children, our children don't care. Rhyme, to them, is just plain fun, and some of these poems present opportunities to learn financial terms.
   
   
4. Continuity is important. This concept is slightly different than #2, because this practice concerns physical rather than verbal repetition. When we practice ongoing lessons at the same time and place, our children develop trust in our actions and words. If we eat dinner together, it helps to have dinner at the same time and place every day so we can avoid confusion. If we learn the stock market together, it also helps to study (read: play with) charts or read aloud from books about money with physical consistency. This practice could be daily but, if not, make sure that specific days are designated for this practice. Children's books about money and the stock market are available at your library or through interlibrary loan.
   
   
5. Children who cannot read depend upon their immediate surroundings for predictability and familiarity. They quickly become aware and trust - or become wary of - objects they see and/or use daily. Some examples include food, water, and teddy bears. When a child learns that cash flow is like water flowing out of a faucet and/or down a drain, they comprehend this tangible symbolic relationship much more than if the definition is presented as an abstract concept. Don't use teddy bears for negative comparative relationships. Stuffed animals are special, therefore inappropriate items for worldly contamination. They also do not belong at the dinner table.
   
   
6. Children remember sensations and emotions elicited by noises like BOOM! or SWOOSH! Other noises can be used to emphasize a stock market lesson, but don't sneak up behind your kids to practice them. These noises are theatrical memory tools, not abusive acts. If these noises are used for financial lessons, when our children hear them again they might automatically think about wise ways to save money. Along this vein, I also remind my family (including myself) that the dinner table is not a stage.
   
   
7. Participation makes the learning experience memorable. One example of participatory learning was covered last week, when I suggested children draw bears and bulls as stock market traders. Through this act children learn these terms, and they also learn these words are analogies for behaviors, not actual people. When our children set the dinner table, they also learn that forks are eating utensils, not weapons of mass destruction. Same practice, same objective, same result. Participation, understanding, maturity.

We know when these steps become too elementary for our children, because they will become restless. They may begin to instruct us on how to modify these lessons. This process is known as homeostasis, or the ability for an organism to adapt to its current environment. Children conform to their environments and eventually help shape them as they achieve higher literacy levels. The problem with adaptation is that previous learning tools become obsolete, perhaps even forgotten. Then, instruction begins all over again only with more sophisticated learning processes.

Teaching children might be exhausting and frustrating, but the results can also be entertaining and exciting. The rewards come when our children finally ask if they can create their own portfolios or cook dinner. Be kind if they ask you to set the table. After all, children often practice what we teach.

Until next week,
Linda Goin