If you’ve been here for a little while, you’ll know that I’m all for teaching kids about money, and that I’m proud of the children's financial education book series that we’ve created. So when I heard that 4BC Brisbane were giving authors an opportunity to come on air and share about their books, I instantly knew that I had to phone in.Â
Speaking with Greg Cary on 4BC’s afternoon show was amazing, and I loved hearing the story he shared about his granddaughter taking her purse to the shops to buy her own things, and also shout coffee for the grown ups. How beautiful is that?!
If you missed our on-air chat, here’s a summary of what we spoke about.
About the books
Greg and I kicked our conversation off by talking about The Money Lessons series, and how these books help adults teach kids about money.Â
I shared how these colourful and fun picture books are perfect for kids aged 2 - 8 years olds, and mentioned the 8 lessons they teach young readers. The topics these books cover include:
How to make money and find joy
How to manage money and feel confident
How to save and dream big
How to spend money wisely and plan ahead
How to be generous through giving and friendship
How to invest in your future and be open-minded
How to deal with debt and practice patience, plus
How to have a healthy money mindset and choose happiness
Each of these books focuses on a different aspect of financial education, to provide kids with a holistic approach to money, which contributes to their financial awareness, resilience, and wellbeing.
Where did the idea come from?
Our kids love stories, especially the ones that we make up on the fly, where they can see themselves in the tale. And like so many other parents I know, when dealing with a new parenting challenge, we often use this medium - storytelling, that they love so much - as an opportunity to teach them life lessons (particularly when all the other parenting tools in our toolkit don’t seem to be working).
And we see it as a win-win. The kids are entertained and captivated by an exaggerated and fun tale, and we feel like we’re nailing parenting because we’ve managed to throw a life lesson into the story too.
So with shopping centre tantrums and disagreements about money being the parenting challenge we were facing at the time, I took the opportunity one day over morning tea to weave some life lessons about money into a fairytale. I had no idea that the kids would love it so much and that the morning tea tale of a brother and sister going on an adventure down The Road to Riches to learn about money would one day become The Money Lessons Series… but that’s what happened.Â
Remembering this moment with Greg during our chat made me smile, and was really great to share and reflect on.Â
Was it difficult to get these kids money books out there?
Absolutely! Not being an established author, pitching to big publishing houses was a challenge. I shared with Greg how difficult it was to get traction in that space, and how failed pitches eventually led me to self-publishing. Which Greg rightly highlighted is a whole education in itself!
Kids get a sense of money early
During our chat, Greg pointed out that these books are a great idea because they give kids a sense of money while they’re young, and I couldn’t agree more. His comment led me to share how these books give children an opportunity to play with money now, make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes when the consequences are low.
Letting kids explore and grapple with the concepts of money early, and learn from their money mistakes when the stakes are low is so important.
Grandparents love these books!
Not only teaching kids about money, these books are also great for building connections with kids too.Â
With vibrant illustrations, gorgeous characters, and the amazing adventures each book takes readers on, snuggling up and reading these books with little ones - whether it’s before bed or with a cup of tea in the afternoon - they’re a great tool for calming and connecting with kids. No wonder so many grandparents are buying them as gifts! The emails and feedback I’m receiving from them is great.Â
Want to know more about these books too?
You can learn all about The Money Lesson series here or by clicking the button below.
Thank You 4BC Brisbane for having me on your show! If you’d like to hear my chat with Greg Cary on-air, click here and fast forward to the 16 minute mark of the recording.
Happy Listening!
Jaleesa x
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