Do you work with parents?
Back to school time is a great opportunity to help parents talk to young people about money management, and although most parents probably don’t think of back to school time as a great time to talk to young people about money, research indicates that it is! Each year, Capital One conducts a survey about back to school shopping, and each time, they find that young people want to learn how to manage their money well.
- Are you a parent? Learn about ways to initiate conversations about money on ParentFurther.com. Go there now! >
Discussing the concept of financial literacy as a family can help young people, even at a very early age, begin to develop positive habits around money. At Search Institute, we know very well the importance of family communication in a child’s development.
Positive family communication is one of the 40 Developmental Assets. Learn more >
Bank It, a collaborative project of Capital One and Search Institute, is a great way to help foster communication about money matters among parents and teens. This strength-based approach provides real-world financial topics, trainings, and tools for parents and teens that make it easier to understand, talk about, and manage money. In its training module – Talk Well – Bank It provides conversation starters and tips for making the most of back-to-school spending for families.
Currently, the program is designed for young people in middle school and for use in community-based settings (such as community and youth programs). However, programs for children in elementary and teens in high school will be soon available.
- Learn more about becoming a Bank It workshop leader at www.bankit.com.
Bank It Trainer Tips:
1. A great way to continue the conversation about money matters after a Bank It session is to have parents and teens join together as teams to play a trivia or other team-related game. (For ideas, see Great Group Games.)
2. Giving monetary incentives, such as gift cards, to teens and parents at the end of each session can help bring home the concepts of saving and spending.
3. Use the evaluation forms provided for each Bank It module to help group leaders identify areas of progress and for growth.
4. Tailor each module to your audience or community. For instance, when discussing financial institutions with both parents and teens use local community banks and credit unions as examples.
5. Do your homework about opportunities in your community for families to continue their growth in financial literacy, such as learning more about special checking accounts and credit programs for teens that will help them develop and maintain positive money management skills and credit ratings in college.
