Money Manners: 'My nephew is six and he put 'credit card' on his Christmas wish list'
By Jo Abi|
Money Manners is Honey Money's weekly column that deals with money etiquette matters that can be the cause of many an awkward encounter.
Submit your Money Manners questions to Jo Abi at jabi@nine.com.au
This week's question comes via a 9Honey reader who was left surprised by her nephew's gift request at Christmas. ?
Question: 'My nephew is six and he put 'credit card' on his Christmas wish list'
This happened just this past Christmas when I was visiting my family. They told me my nephew put "credit card" on his Christmas wish list.
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I assumed that meant he wanted money, and I wasn't sure if he was too young for that so I ended up getting him a shopping voucher so he could buy something for himself.
But it got me thinking: At what age is it appropriate to give kids ca?sh as a gift? And when do children get access to things like credit cards?
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I know times have changed but six seems sort of young.?
Advice: 'First, check he knows what a credit card actually is'
When it comes to cash and even shopping vouchers as gifts for kids, I'd check in with their parents because each has different ideas on how best to introduce children to the concept of money.
When it comes to your nephew's request for a "credit card" the first thing to do is figure out if he knows what a credit card is.
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I remember shopping with my son when he was around this age. We were picking up some groceries for dinner. He asked for something, I can't remember what, and I told him we didn't have money for that so he said: "Let's go to the money machine and get some."
I realised he was talking about the ATM. He thought it was a money machine anyone could get cash out of, which was problematic.
I explained to him the ATM was connected to my bank account and my workplace put money in my account in exchange for the work I did. I told him I received a fixed amount each pay period and that had to last to cover all of our bills.
I explained to him the card I was using to get money out of the ATM was how I accessed that account.
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And when technology changed and I no longer needed cash for shopping, my kids used to love taking turns tapping my card to pay for things, which prompted me to explain how they work.
Your nephew is seeing a credit card tapping devices at stores, magically paying for items. He may not know the difference between a credit card and a debit card, one that results in consumer debt and one that accesses your own money.
He may just want one of those magical money cards that pays for things.
I ended up getting my kids Spriggys, which are cards connected to an app through which I put money on them. They'd each get a set amount each week for school lunches or trips to the shops and they could keep track of their money via the app and earn more for doing chores.
But does your nephew have access to a device that could house the app? Maybe it could live on his parent's device and they could navigate it together.?
The bottom line is it's a good idea to explain different forms of payment with children from a young age while you are shopping so they understand the concept of money and payment, and so they understand what goes on behind the scenes of that magical card that buys the stuff they like.
?The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.
