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One of the most important things you can teach your children is how to handle money. Not just how to count change, but to actually educate, empower, and motivate your children to save and invest money. A big part of learning about money is making financial decisions. Here are 5 ways to teach children about money:

1. Begin teaching your child about money as soon as he or she can count. Children learn by observation and repetition. Talk about the values of coins and dollars and tell them to watch you pay for items.
2. Keep communication lines open in regards to money. Continuously talk to your children about how important it is to save money, how to make money grow with investments, how to save money, and how to spend money wisely.
3. Work with your children to set financial goals. Financial goal setting is fundamental to learning the value of money. Every time your child asks you to buy a toy, make that the object of a goal-setting session. Teach your child to save up his or her own money to purchase that item.
4. For parents that give their children an allowance, provide the money in small denominations to encourage savings. For example, if you give your child $5 a week for completing household chores, pay them with five, one-dollar bills. Then, encourage the child to save at least one dollar a week.

Everyday spending decisions can have more of a negative impact on a child’s future than any other decision they make. Teaching them to make good spending decisions will greatly benefit your children’s future.