Latest News

You probably know by now that your child is a consumer - especially after the recent holiday! There is so much variety, competition and choice, including methods of payment. How often do they actually see you handle ‘notes’ nowadays? How do they know how you made a choice? Do they think money just appears from the ‘hole in the wall?’ ‘Yes!’ I hear you say!

"Young people today are participants in a dynamic consumer world characterised by an extraordinary expansion of choice and ever increasing complexity."
Graham Crough, General Manager, Financial Literacy Foundation. March 2008.

Australian studies of the characteristics of generations ‘Y’ (born after 1980) and ‘Z’ (6-13 year olds) show that young people are living in a multi-tasking, media-saturated society and make many choices for themselves, from the clothes they wear to the mobile phone they use.

One teacher reported “This young boy thought there was an endless supply of cash at the ATM for his mum and dad. He couldn’t understand why we needed to give money to the needy in places like Africa. He thought the people in Africa should just go to the ATM.”

Talking to your children about money and using everyday experiences is a great way to help them develop a healthy attitude towards personal finance. Studies show that children do learn about money from their family, so it’s important to give them the right information in a form they can understand.

Planning, saving and keeping track are some of the ways to develop good money habits. The MakingCents program helps your child to do this and you are a major influence in your child’s learning about money. Learn together! Many parents have found the MakingCents program useful for their own learning about managing money.

From pocket money to budgeting see our tips for parents.