From the author: Published on July 23, 2013 in the newspaper “Minsky Courier” At what age should you start talking to your child about money and how to teach how to handle it correctly? Should children be given pocket money? Is it worth paying for housework or homework? Should the child be involved in the family’s financial problems? We are talking about this with psychologist Elena Dubovik—When do children begin to understand the essence of money?—For kids, money is an abstract thing. At the age of 5-7 years, a child is already able to understand where the banknotes in their parents’ wallet come from. That mom and dad go to work and get paid for their work, that money is the equivalent of goods and services. And schoolchildren should be able to spend them wisely. Take children aged 5-6 years with you to the store for shopping. Show how to choose products, teach them to understand prices: what is acceptable and what is high, what goods are needed now and what can be bought another time. Many families give their children pocket money. In your opinion, is this necessary? - Absolutely. From the age of six, a child should have pocket money. So he learns to manage them. This must be a certain amount. What will it be like? Decide for yourself based on your income, but not very much. The money allocated for meals at school should not be confused with pocket money. The second ones are intended for small expenses: enjoying ice cream, going to the cinema, buying a small toy, a magazine... Give out pocket money once a week on an agreed day. - What if grandparents want to give their grandchildren “a couple of coins”? - They can give, but with parental consent. Without him or even without the knowledge of mom and dad, this is a violation of the family hierarchy and parental authority. You need to know how much the child receives from his grandparents, and whether the amount is proportionate. It is entirely possible to refuse such financial assistance. And grandparents should not be offended, because you are raising a child, not them. - Should you demand a full report on expenses? - Pocket money is a sign of respect and freedom. So let the child dispose of them at his own discretion. Even if you see that, having received the money, he spends everything immediately, you do not need to take control of the expenses and allocate the money in parts. Explain that, having spent everything at once, he will be left without finances for a whole week. Gradually, the child will develop a shopping strategy. The task of parents is not to control, but to raise a person who knows how to manage his life and any of its resources, including money. - Is it possible to give children money for their birthday? - It depends on what age the child is. A teenager can. It is better to give gifts to small children. If you have doubts about choosing a gift, go to the store together. - There are parents who stimulate their children’s academic performance with money. - I do not support this trend. All the cases that I encountered in practice did not bring the desired result: neither my academic performance nor family relationships improved. Maybe the child has no ability in some subject, and in this way you demand good grades. He suffers from this. Fear of upsetting, making mistakes, being bad or unworthy, difficulties with mastering the school curriculum fall like a snowball on the child - and problems with studying begin. In general, children learn well out of cognitive interest. He needs to be supported. - How to feel about the fact that parents pay their children for housework? - And who will give him for cleaning the room or washing the dishes when he becomes an adult? A child receives money only because he must learn to manage it and have a certain degree of freedom. In fact, the child himself wants to help his parents. In this case there must be a different motivation. I clean up the room not because my mother will give me money, but because after cleaning it will be clean and fresh. The child receives aesthetic pleasure and moral satisfaction: I’m great, I did it myself. Parents who pay for homework are rather unsure of themselves: they are not an authority for their child, their words mean nothing to him.—Is it even possible to use