As I finished up another tax season of working much more than I really like to, I was thinking about some personal finance principles that I teach. Here are some of them applied to child rearing.
1 - Start the saving habits now. Don't wait until you have a lot of money.
It would be so easy to get a lot of work done if I ignored my children. It would be so easy to say "I'll play games with them when I'm not so busy" or "I'll start taking them on walks once tax season is over". It's not true. Life doesn't really get less busy. We always seem to find things to occupy our time. If I don't get in the habit of making my children a priority and finding time to play with them even when I'm busy, it's not going to happen. Ever.
2 - It's never too early to start.
Just like the principle of compound interest, it's never too early to invest in teaching your children. If you start when they're young, it's so much easier than trying to teach them something when they're 13 and don't really want to listen to Mom and Dad. Not that 3 year olds want to listen that much more, but at least you have a few more opportunities.
3 - Even a little bit makes a difference.
Sometimes, even just the little things we do with our children make a difference. Five minutes spent coloring with my child, or 30 minutes on a "date" with a child may seem like a little thing, but sometimes it ends up being something a child remembers and brings up over and over again.
A good reminder to myself that a true principle is a true principle regardless of what subject it is applied to.
On the Road to Emmaus
9 months ago
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