The Update

Tips For Raising Secure Kids

As a parent, you want your kids to know you can provide them with all their needs. To make things easier for you, we’ve compiled a list of practical pointers for helping you reach your goal.

Use an Allowance as a Teaching Tool

Studies say 89% of parents who give their kids an allowance require them to earn that money through chores, but it’s best if allowances are not granted as a reward. Instead, use them as a teaching tool. By giving kids their own money with no strings attached, you can help them learn how to manage their money and control their spending habits.

Boost Their Confidence

Peer pressure is a lifelong struggle that may be strongest during the school-age years. Help your children make the right choices by fostering a sense of worth independent of material possessions. Boost their confidence so they feel good about themselves just for who they are.

Say No

It is crucial that you refuse your children’s requests on occasion. Everyone needs to learn how to accept a no.

Say your daughter asks for a $200 designer jacket she doesn’t need. If you give in to her begging, you may be affecting her future choices and standards in two ways:

• You have diminished the value of $200 in her eyes.
• You are raising her standards to a level you – or she – may not be able to sustain.

When turning down a request, don’t mention money. Instead of saying: “We can’t afford that right now.” Try: “You don’t really need that right now.”

Encourage Work

Kids who hold down a job are getting a head start on life as an adult. Encourage your child to look for a summer job, shovel snow for neighbors in the winter and accept occasional babysitting jobs. They’ll learn responsibility, develop a work ethic and they’ll start to value their money more.

Model Gratitude and Giving

One of the most important lessons you can give your children is to appreciate what they have and to give back to others. Use every available opportunity to model these behaviors for your children.

Make gratitude a family project by having every child share a part of their day for which they’re thankful at the dinner table. Or, create a “Jar Of Gratitude,” in which family members drop small slips of paper describing something they’re grateful for, to be read aloud weekly in front of the entire family.

Do the same with giving, bringing your children along with you when you donate old clothing or food. Allow them to watch you give money to your favorite charitable causes.

By helping your children develop these habits and essential traits, you’ll ward off feelings of entitlement and raise kindhearted, giving adults.

Help Your Child Open an Account

Your teen will also need a place to deposit their money. Rio Grande Credit Union's CU Succeed accounts were designed for young adults ages 13-18. A CU Succeed account will help your teen understand money management, savings, and spending. These accounts are fantastic starting points for your teen and finance.