Beyond Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands: How to Teach Young Kids About Finance is a book written by Liz Frazier. This book is a guide for how to teach young kids about money.
I was really excited to learn about this book because I feel like it’s so important to teach kids about money.
My parents and my in-laws managed money very differently and so the habits my husband and I had about money were very different. It took quite a while for us to figure out how to manage our money and I wish that one or both of us would have had a better understanding of money.
More than understanding how to manage the money it’s important to understand why and be confident in your understanding and beliefs about finances so you can share and teach others.
About Beyond the Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands
Beyond the Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands is written as an easy-to-follow guide for parents, allowing them to teach their elementary school-aged children the importance of saving, spending and everything else.
The main goal of this book is to teach kids the financial basics they will need to know as they enter young adulthood. The book also provides fun bonding activities to complete together which makes these lessons less of a homework assignment and more of a life skill.
Liz Frazier says:
This book provides parents with the confidence to teach simple financial basics to their children. With that confidence comes excitement and inspiration, by teaching your children about finance, you will influence every step of their lives in a positive and meaningful way.
Review of Beyond the Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands
Beyond the Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands is a book all parents with young children need. It is written in a way that is enjoyable to read with step by step instructions and ideas of how to teach your kids about money starting when they are in Preschool.
The table of contents breaks down each chapter making it easy to find resources for what you want to teach your kids if you jump around.
The book is broken up into different parts, each with a different focus.
Tip for the Already Overwhelmed Parent
The first part is titled “Tips for the Already Overwhelmed Parent”. In this section, you find information about why it’s important for you to teach kids about finances.
Did you know that only 5 states require high school students to take a half-year class on finances to graduate?
The first section also includes information about how to teach your kids about finances using a 3 step method of teaching, exploring and discussing.
You will also find three easy ways to prepare to teach your kids about finances and a guide to what information is appropriate for each age.
Teaching Kids About Money
Sections 2, 3, and 4 are broken down into grade levels with specific information taught for those ages.
Section 2: Getting Started with Money
Section 2 is about getting started with money and covers information that’s perfect to start teaching kids in preschool through first grade.
Ideas that are talked about in this section include things like:
- What is money?
- Why do we need money?
- How do we get money?
- Need vs Want
Those are just a few of the major things taught in this section. There are also a lot of great ideas on how to teach these concepts to kids in a fun and interactive way that everyone will enjoy.
Section 3: Piggy Bank Basics (Save, Share, and Spend)
Section 3 is the intermediate level for kids in grades 1-5. The focus of this section is saving, sharing and spending.
Ideas that are talked about in this section include things like:
- Allowances (structure, rules and more)
- Responsible Spending
- Saving and why it’s important
- Explaining Charity and why we share
For each of those main ideas, there are numerous smaller lessons that can be taught and so many great step by step instructions on how to teach so your child understands.
Section 4: For the Overachievers
Section 4 is for those who want to learn even more about finances. It’s an advanced level for 2nd-5th graders.
Ideas that are taught in this section include:
- Kiddie Economics
- Baking and Investing
- Debt
- Taxes
These sections start to teach kids and adults even more important concepts about finance that most of us adults don’t even know very well.
Final Thoughts
Our kids are always watching us and learning from what we do good or bad. I love that this book makes it easy to incorporate life lessons about finance into our everyday lives, with simple actionable steps.
This book isn’t a read once and done it’s a resource that can be used for years as we help our children learn good money habits and life skills to help them be successful adults.
Liz Frazier states ” Children can begin to develop money habits as early as seven. Most parents feel there is no way their seven-year-old is going to comprehend what a bank does or how interest is determined, but don’t underestimate your child…. Get them started on the right track as they are learning money – you want their early experiences with money to be positive because these will shape their values as they get older.”
Young Kids and Money
It’s so true that young kids pick up on much more than we realize. We started talking to our kids ages 4 and 2 about money this past year and it’s amazing how much they understand.
My 2-year-old often says I want that, but we’ve got to save our money. She already knows what she needs to do to get what she wants. Helping our kids start to understand money has eliminated most tantrums while shopping and given them more appreciation for the things they buy with their own money.
You can read this post all about how we have started teaching our kids about money.
I can’t wait to continue teaching our kids about money using Beyond the Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands as our guide.
Purchase Beyond the Piggy Bank and Lemonade Stands
About Liz Frazier
Liz Frazier is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) at Frazier Financial Consultants (FFC), her family’s firm. She holds a Master’s of Business Administration from Wake Forest University and is a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). She contributes regularly to Forbes.com, focusing on everyday personal finances that anyone can use, with simple and entertaining financial advice.