Understanding equity and balance comes easily to the gifted child. They have an early awareness of what is fair in life terms as well as monetary equitability. Starting early with the gifted child will establish her sense of work value at a very young age.
Preschool Gifted Children and Allowance Earnings
Starting when the gifted toddler learns to talk and understand numbers is not too early to explain how the free capitalism system works and the value of a dollar earned. The young child can make her bed, put away toys and do very basic cleaning tasks to earn an allowance. The amount of money earned is less important than the equitability of how the other siblings earn money. Fairness counts most to the gifted child.
School Age Gifted Children and Money Concepts
The school age child can begin to save money in a bank account as well as invest in the stock market. Teaching the child how to research stocks and giving him a general understanding of the stock market basic concepts and vocabulary is appropriate to the pre-teen child.
Seeing his investments go up and down will be a great learning experience, particularly when he uses money that he is able to earn himself for the investment.
Early Jobs for the Gifted Student
In addition to the normal early jobs for teen children such as babysitting, lawn maintenance and housecleaning, the gifted child has additional skills, which can be put to workable use. For example, she can tutor other children in math and science. She may be able to work at a science museum, nature center or other attraction as a volunteer and will be eligible for earnings in due course.
Using the child's primary interests as a guide, she will find a part time livelihood, often with minimal adult intervention.
Gifted Teens and Finances
Teaching the gifted teenager the value of withholding instant gratification by saving money in the long term and developing a sense of financial security will be the long range lesson. Starting with a specific financial goal of saving several hundred dollars or saving for a particular expensive item, like a bike or computer will give her a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, that will have positive ramifications for years to come.
Helping the teen learn to manage money, save and spend judiciously will have a gratifying impact on many aspects of her life.
In summary, financial management can begin very early for the gifted child. As soon as he has a sense of what numbers mean, he can start earning a small allowance. Encouraging saving money and investing in long term gains is a great lesson for the school age child. Teach the child about stocks, bonds and investments as soon as school age and allow him to participate in investments. Working part time and saving for bigger investments are lessons that will last a lifetime.
Also read the articles Gifts_for_the_Gifted and Tips for Parents With Gifted Teens.
Therese Haberman - With a MS degree and 25 years in HR mgmt, in 2005, Ms.Therese began a writing career specializing in children and HR.
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