On our last holiday to Darjeeling one foggy evening, the kids started getting crabby. My husband brought out business and everyone discussed buying, selling, lending, and counting money.
My daughter came up to me and said “Maa guess what? I won. But I almost didn’t. “
I smiled, looking up from my sketch, and asked,” Why the almost?”.
She said her friend had become a young millionaire and was racing to win. But lost all his money and in fact lost the game as a pauper. Me being in instant teach-a-life-lesson-mommy mode asked her,
“Why did he lose all his money?”
“Oh, he took too many loans and then couldn’t pay back. He wasn’t a clever investor and definitely not a smart business player. He won a lot, but then lost even more.”
Me “Hmm, so what did we learn?”
“Save more than you spend. Always.”
This was a game worth playing if such an important life lesson can be learned. So the next day I looked for a few educational games which are not too complicated and can help teach concepts about making earning, investing, and the like. But without overwhelming.
Are you Money Smart?
It’s important to have good money habits as a parent if you want to teach them that. Kids learn more from what we do than from what we say. Their little ears and eyes are always picking up information, which creates long-term mindsets and habits.
Do you Trust Yourself With Money?
My mother used to ask us to count out the different amounts for the monthly bills to be paid. We learned about filing income tax because our mother was learning too back then. It was confusing at first, but things got better .I learned to handle money confidently from a young age and always managed to save from the birthday money gifts from our many aunts and uncles. There was no concept of “pocket money”.
The first money I earned was when I worked at a contact lens shop after my twelfth standard and then I started giving tuition. I never looked back. As far back as I can remember I liked the idea of multiple streams of income. That was also the reason I started my blog. I let my daughter help me plan shopping lists and pay vendors when we go shopping. There’s nothing like practical experience and responsibility to teach lessons well.
Gamifying can help simplify things
We grow some of our own vegetables. We also have fruit trees. All this comes at a cost that is difficult to explain to kids.I picked the Farm stimulation game , Idle Farming Business, where you start by choosing a plot of land, planting seeds, and raising and harvesting crops. Then with the proceeds, you can buy more plots and so on. Get the crops ready for processing, then they are sold and you can buy more seeds for the next cycle. The game gives a prompt for you to cycle and plant different crops for a better harvest. It reminds you about harvesting before the rains come. Harvest potatoes first, followed by other vegetables like carrots(we grow this for real), tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, turnips, onions, and corn.
You earn by scrolling over the plot, then you reinvest to improve the farm.
Small farmers face difficulty due to fluctuating rain levels. We discussed collecting rainwater safely to avoid issues while farming. We played the game together with a timer on. Simple gamification of topics does help in clearing difficult and dry topics.
I also like the Real estate games and the coffee shop simulation. The coffee shop is a one-month simulation game where you learn to start, run and manage a business profitably. Kids learn about inventory for the coffee shop, buying coffee, milk, and sugar varieties of each, strategy for marketing, pricing demand, supply consumer feedback
The next game we played together was the Wind and solar sustainable energy game. I am all for hybrid and alternative energy sources. The world can’t go forward without energy and for sustainable energy, we need a plan. That awareness must start right at the beginning when the kids are eager to learn. This wind and solar sustainable energy game is easy to play. Move and position the solar panels to catch the sun optimally. Then you pull up or push down the wind turbine to catch the wind to generate power using a windmill. There is an energy meter to see how much energy you generated. Pretty simple.I wish one day we could all capture energy this way.
The games are simple to play and explain the rules as you play along. The only trouble I faced was it took some time to load on my mobile phone. It’s best if you monitor your kid’s online screen exposure. Because games can become engrossing. That’s the reason I played this game first alone to check whether it’s appropriate for my daughter and then played with her. The internet is useful if used for good. My job as a parent is to teach her to choose right when I am not around. Money skills are taught nowhere. If you don’t teach your child who will?
You might like this post: How to Teach kids about Money?
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post. Read my full disclosure here