How to teach your children financial skills in the digital age

The world of digital finance presents all of us with new challenges – including our children. How can we prepare them for these new challenges? In this article, you will find helpful tips and tools to support you in this process.

Knowing how to handle money is a basic requirement for financial independence – not just for adults, but for children and young people too. By imparting financial knowledge, we can help people make responsible financial decisions and set financial goals. The earlier children grasp financial concepts, the better prepared they will be to handle financial challenges as adults. Financial education is therefore an essential life skill that will help them to lay a stable and secure financial foundation.

Pocket money as an educational tool

Pocket money can be used as an effective educational tool to familiarise children with managing money. Not only does it teach them the value of money, it also teaches them how to handle it responsibly. Here are a few specific tips:

• Start giving your child pocket money from a young age and increase the amount as they get older.
• Help your child make a plan for their pocket money by dividing the money into categories such as “spending money”, “savings” and “money for sharing”.
• Discuss the costs of day-to-day needs like food and clothing with your child to improve their understanding of the financial aspects of life.
• Have regular discussions with your child about their spending and saving habits to get them thinking about their financial decisions.

A helpful digital solution for this is Yapini by the Swiss fintech company YAPEAL. Yapini enables young people aged from 12 to 18 to manage their money digitally while keeping their parents in control. It’s a practical way to introduce young people to making digital payments while at the same time teaching them how to be responsible for their own money.

Another helpful service is Viva Kids by Credit Suisse for under 12s. This digital banking solution teaches children how to handle money in a fun way. It contains the digital piggy bank Digipigi, which helps children to manage their saving goals and to understand the value of money.

An ongoing process

Financial education is an ongoing process that requires both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. It is important that we continually help and support our children as they go through it. In doing so, we should always give them the opportunity to make their own decisions and learn from their mistakes.

Financial skills for the next generation

Basics of financial education

• The sooner the better: introduce children to financial knowledge from a young age
• Financial education as an essential life skill

Pocket money as an educational tool

• Start paying pocket money from a young age and increase the amount as they get older
• Help children make a plan for their pocket money
• Regular discussions about spending and saving habits
• Help children to understand the costs of daily life