Is it right to let our children know our financial capabilities?

I remember one very particular Christmas. My mom would always get my “accessories” two weeks before Christmas. For some reason, it was the 20th and my mom was silent. Truth is, I was not stupid. My mother also never hid our financial situation from me. I knew how much she earned as a salary and I never told anyone, contrary to the behaviour of girls my age. I knew all about our cash flow and expenses. I knew when it was hard to get by.

So when I saw that my mom was having trouble telling me that I will not be getting a Christmas ensemble, I beat her to it letting her know I understood the situation and that I could just wear any of my Sunday clothes. I remember the words my mom used with me then, “Kai. What did I do to deserve you?”

From a daughter’s point of view, I say that parents should not hide their financial situation from their children. Not like they should exaggerate and instill fear of losing money in them, but to make them understand and get prepared for the world at large. I say that because my mom included me in every decision we made in the house, from feeding to spending, and this enhanced my knowledge. Granted, I would argue with her when I thought she was being too frugal but then with time, I began to experience it for myself. That is why we were children. We would fight but then we would learn.

Maybe sheltering a child from the financial aspect of the house is the parents’ way of showing love. They do not want anything affecting the childs’ growth which is not bad, but sooner or later, that child would need to learn how to be precise and calculative with numbers of value especially if that child wants to succeed in business. An individual’s ability to learn and grow starts with childhood. What they have been taught and what they have witnessed.

Personally, I say that parents should make children understand from an early age the beauty of money earned. This way, they understand and know how to use it wisely. However, we do know there are kids that have been exposed to abject poverty. This is a different subject and one we would not be going into today. To me, 11 to 13 is a pretty good age to start your children on the concept of money and household management. My mom took over the kitchen in a house with 9 children at the age of ten. I began to handle food and tracking our expenses at the age of 9 (well the basic part of it). She made sure of it and for that, I will always be grateful.