JediMom Blog

A shopping cart outfitted with kiddie TV is just one example of how marketing is reaching deeper and deeper to influence our youngsters. Marketers know that when they reach this audience they also reach mom and dad’s wallet.

As a mom, I’m always looking for ideas to wrestle back a little bit of that control. A Motley Fool post gave me some great ideas on how to make this season of spending a “teachable moment.” Their “7 Ways to Make Your Kids Love Giving” provides some great ideas of how parents can help boost their kid’s financial IQ all year long.

Here are their 7 tips:

• Teach them to value every dollar
• Make dollar decisions tangible
• Pull back the curtain on retail marketing tricks
• Reward savings behavior
• Let them pick a charity
• Get them excited about stocks, not stuff
• Show your gratitude for your family’s gifts every day

At the JediMom house, our tween gets a small allowance for use as she pleases. I’m finding that if I exercise a little willpower and refuse to purchase non-essentials and impulse items for her that she gives more thought to her saving and spending. This was the first year that she used her allowance to purchase gifts for Mom and Dad. Maybe next year she’ll consider her little brother worthy too!

When she was a little younger, we tried the idea of having three separate banks for spending, savings and charity. But that setup seemed a little forced. I think those habits need to come from her, not me. I believe I can make a stronger statement to her about their importance by simply being a good role model.

Motley Fool also makes a great point about getting kids interested in stocks, not stuff. This reminded me that I am wasting an opportunity. Grandma purchased some Disney stock for my daughter years ago and I have neglected to show her how the investment is doing. When she starts to see herself as a stockholder, she’ll be able to look at Disney from another angle. We’ll be able to discuss Disney marketing, movies, their purchase and plans for Club Penguin and the financial impact on the company when a teen-age pop star implodes.

Another gem in the post was a link to the “Don’t Buy It” microsite at PBS. It helps kids spot common marketing tactics and gets them thinking about whether they want to be a walking billboard for a brand.

I’m getting an early start on the resolution season, I’ll be using these ideas all year to help my kids get smarter about money.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 10:38 am and is filed under Marketing to Kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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