Share Your Finanical Crisis With Children !!

Lekha was getting ready for her College She was doing her second year in pyschology..Her mother's voice came from the kitchen.."Lekha get ready soon.. the taxi will arrive shortly.. dont make it late..... " Lekha didnt respond her.. she was hearing her favorite music in her room and she was relaxely getting ready...

Lekha's father has arranged a taxi for her to pick and drop her in college.. Though she had local bus and train for college her father insisted her to go by taxi only he thought if his daughter goes by by bus or train neighbours and other friends will underestimate their Family Status.. The paid around 50 Ringets for the taxi per day..

Before Continuing a small flashback about Lekha's family...

Lekha's father was a very good Business man.. he earned a lot of money too.. but he didnt have the habit of saving money he exhausted most of the money earned in giving parties, clubs, dinners and many other things like this. and beacause of some bad friendship he couldnt continue to do his business properly and had a heavy loss.... At one point he was pushed to sale his own house which he was living.. and now he is paying rent for his own house and staying.. But he didnt disclose anything to his daughter.. her daughter thinks that still her Dad is a Big Business magnet..

Lekha was not aware of all the finacial crisis that happened in her family she enjoyed her college life with her friends and also didnt concentrate in her studies thinking that her Dad will take care of everything....

If lekha's father had exposed the finacial position of their family to his daughter... Lekha would have been a bit responsible .... And even her mother failed to tell her daughter what happened in the family and what is happening now....
Both the parents just want their daughter to be happy always ... they thought that she is too young to know all this.....

But one bad morning.. Lekha's father had a heart attack.. and he passed away.. leaving HEAVY debt to his family......


Brindha......

Dear Brindha,

I defintely agree with you. Children should be aware of the financial situation at home. My father always used to tell the same. No hus hush conversation about finance. i always see to that my children understand the situation before I buy anything which is little expensive. My husband also seconds me in this. Kids are also aware of the difficulty parents undergo to fulfill their demands.

A nice and thought provoking post.

Dear lalitha...
Im very happy to see your feedback..you were the first one to post the feedback for my previous post (duaghters a curse ..?) and now also you are the first one dear..... Thanx a lot...
In many families even the wife is not aware of the finacial position of her husband.. We should teach our children from childhood itself the neccesity of saving and spending.. and also discuss important issues regarding finance to grown up kids....


ThanX for sharing your thoughts..
Love
brindha

hi Brinda and Lalitha...

i agree with you that you must share financial crisis with your kids but there is certain age limit and it depends on what type your kid is. It is good if kids are aware of the parents financial crisis but sometimes it carries its negative effect on kids. For grown up doing graduation no problem we have to realize them the fact, but for younger we have to think personally what is the nature of your kid. If kids come to know their parents are going through some financial crisis so keep many things to themselves and don't open their mouth. Some kids are really sensitive for their parents and siblings they keep all problems to themselves, even if they need money urgently they will never say. Sometimes kids they develop a inferiority feeling in front of their friends and they develop a different type of psychology. So, i would like to say that before discussing or disclosing few sensitive things we must one must be fully aware of their childs personality and behavior ....how your child is going to take that problem in mind??????

Dear padma...
Thanx for your feedback.. Very thoughtful sharing padma.. your words made me to think.. in the other way too.... . As you have said their are some kids who get depression ... its really a delicate issue to handle.. but in case of grown up kids its better to expose the position of the family to them rather hiding certain things from them....

ThankYou
Love
brindha

Hi Brinda and Padma,
It is a good topic. I too feel that kids must know about their parent's financial status.Moreover they should RESPECT MONEY. They should know how parents are getting money.

love......soji

Originally Posted by soji

Hi Brinda and Padma,
It is a good topic. I too feel that kids must know about their parent's financial status.Moreover they should RESPECT MONEY. They should know how parents are getting money.

love......soji

Dear soji..
thanx for your feedback... I read in a magazine long back.. that we should teach 3 S for the children from childhood itself.. SPEND, SAVE,SHARE.. these are the 3 'S .Its the parents responsibilty to teach them the value of money .. and discuss abt the family finance whenever needed....

love
brindha

Very nice topic Brinda. I also liked the other thread initiated by you - the one about whether it is a curse to have daughters only. It brought about interesting perspectives and also re-iterated the fact that at least in this age and time people should not discriminate between a girl and a boy and that girls themselves must learn to step up and help change the old way of thinking.

Coming back to this thread, I totally agree with yours and Lalitha’s point of view that kids should be made aware of where we stand financially as a family. I also whole-heartedly agree with Padmatvt’s point of view that this should be done in the right amount and at the right age.

Sharing financial standing with the kids is a must. But to what extent you share with them should be age appropriate, I think. Padma has a very valid point that some extra sensitive kids may not be able to take a financial crunch in the right spirit, which may crush their personality even before it has blossomed.

Like you have said, college going and older kids should pretty much know the entire picture. As for the younger kids I think the value for money lessons could be imparted in an indirect manner.

I have found that getting younger kids (4+ years) involved in charity proves extremely valuable. For example, every quarter ask them to select a few of their clothes, toys and books they have grown out of, to be given to other less fortunate kids. This tells them that there are kids their age that do not have this. There are also food donation initiatives where one can make food packets for kids and distribute them either by going there individually or through an organization. From personal experience, I have found these methods to be extremely effective for this younger age group kids. They get exposure to the kids that are less fortunate than them without adversely impacting their own sense of security.

Especially if one lives in a country where one does not see beggars or poor and hungry kids on the streets, it becomes all the more important to provide kids the exposure to this other side of life early on.

Like Lalitha said, it is also important to tell the kids that a certain big-ticket item was not easy to buy and it took a lot of savings to buy it. That gives them a sense for the fact that parents have to work hard to earn the money.

I am looking forward to reading more innovative and interesting ideas from everyone.
SS

Dear SS...

""""""""""""""""I have found that getting younger kids (4+ years) involved in charity proves extremely valuable. For example, every quarter ask them to select a few of their clothes, toys and books they have grown out of, to be given to other less fortunate kids. This tells them that there are kids their age that do not have this. There are also food donation initiatives where one can make food packets for kids and distribute them either by going there individually or through an organization. From personal experience, I have found these methods to be extremely effective for this younger age group kids. They get exposure to the kids that are less fortunate than them without adversely impacting their own sense of security''''''''''''''''''.

Very Well said .......This Cultivates a lot of good things in the child's mind...and also the child is aware of the value of money too.. By involving in charity the child realises that how much she/he is gifted by god when compared to others.....

Thankyou very Much for sharing your thoughts with us....
Love
brindha...

Yes each and everyone must discuss with their childrens , and also make him to know the value of money and ask them to save the money in a playway method,But don't make them as a money minded.