Teach Kids to Keep Money Safe

On his first beach trip, my son did the traditional things, he chased the water as it flowed in and out. He built sandcastles and just generally ran around like a little boy having the time of his life.   

When he finally took a break and sat down on a towel with me, we played a digging game. I put a quarter in the sand and then covered it. Careful with this activity because you would be surprised how quickly the coin you put in the sand can disappear right in front of your face. I recommend starting with a penny to start with, in the case you never see it again.  

This became a fun game for my son. He dug furiously (making it even harder to find the coin).  

When he found it, his face would light up in delight. We did this a few times, so he had around two dollars in coins.  

Then I said, “let me hold your money Kai”. My son being stubborn as he is and not wanting to give anyone his treasure said, “No I’ll keep it”.  

When we went to shower off our feet, I asked him where the money was because we were going to use it to buy ice cream.  

He realized he had dropped it. It was under the deck of the shower facility near the beach. He howled so loudly and started crying “My money, Noooooooo, my money”. He certainly gave on-lookers a show. This is life as a mom, there are lots of highs and lows.  

I still got him ice cream, but he learned a very important lesson. Keep your money safe and don’t lose it. There were a couple more episodes like this (it took more than one lesson), but now I can tell you whenever my son gets money he has learned to either deposit it directly into his piggy bank or give it to me for safe keeping. These small lessons set a good foundation for future habits in dealing with money.