Parents should educate their children on the value of money and the importance of savings, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has advised.
The MEC, while issuing a series of tips on teaching youngsters the principles of investment, has highlighted that parents can develop their children’s personality and hone their skills by providing them with regular pocket money since childhood and teaching them how to use it properly.
The advisory aims to inculcate financial literacy in children, promote their economic behaviour and enable them to manage their future lives independently of their parents, especially in terms of issues such as marriage, education and treatment.
The MEC has called upon all parents to educate their children on the means of saving money, noting that the main source of money is work and a person should not spend his/her entire income.
The main reason behind saving up is to purchase desired products, and parents can encourage their children to have a small moneybox for this.
Additionally, parents can encourage kids to save part of their pocket money by counting how much has been saved at the end of a month and donating the amount to charity, which will motivate the children to continue saving.
The savings model should be in line with the age and knowledge level of children, the MEC has advised.
In terms of investment, the first step for parents is to take children to a bank and encourage them to open their first savings account after they collect a specific amount of money.
Parents should also teach their children how to use their daily pocket money efficiently by dividing it into three main parts: the first will be allocated for their daily spending, the second will be for saving and the third will be donated to charity.
The main aim is to encourage children to have specific goals for themselves and achieve them, as well as to urge them to stick to the budget and control its distribution and expenditure, which will lead to positive outcomes as a result of proper planning.
It is important for parents to follow a regular system when providing their children with pocket money.
This will be based on the child’s age, needs and ability to deal with the money.
Meanwhile, the MEC has advised parents to avoid displaying any kind of wealth in front of children when they go shopping. As parents are their children’s role models, they should avoid wasting money on unnecessary goods.
Further, parents can share with their children reports of stock market fluctuations, which will help them learn more about money and business.
The ministry has also highlighted the importance of using applications such as Masareef and Toshl, which allow users to keep track of personal budgets and enable them to control their expenditures, thereby facilitating the process of saving and investment.
The advisory aims to inculcate financial literacy in children, promote their economic behaviour and enable them to manage their future lives independently of their parents
