It is up to us as parents to teach our children how to invest, because they will not learn it anywhere else. The school system will not teach them anything about it – all they will be able to do when they emerge from the education system is to work for other people. Schools simply do not turn out business owners – they turn out employees, and that is the sad truth.

I wanted more for my kids so I took it upon myself to teach them about the financial world, and how to invest. In other words, I taught them how to make their money work for them instead of working for money their entire lives. Teenagers are ideally placed to learn this as they are close to going out on their own in the world and they know it. A gentle guidance in the direction of making it easier for themselves may be just the spur they need to get moving.

I would rather my teenagers be learning online about financial matters than looking for online jobs for teenagers. I want my kids to own the businesses, not work in them, and this is the time to teach them what they need to know in order to achieve that. The stock market and world financial markets have seen a fair amount of turmoil lately and it is a great teaching tool to teach teenagers the cause and effects between political decisions and financial markets.

I for one sit down and teach my kids how to trade on the stock market by paper trading imaginary accounts. This prepares them for doing the actual trading as they become old enough to fund their own accounts, and hopefully teaches positive habits, and a safe place to learn before they go out and buy penny stocks online without having a clue what they are doing.  Teaching our kids is our responsibility, and there is no time like the present.

Tags: , ,