Can We Teach Young Children About Finance?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Can we teach kids at an early age to develop better habits regarding money?
So believes The JumpStart Coalition for Personal Finance Literacy in creating a book, "Pretty Penny Sets Up Shop," about a young girl who makes a small mall in her grandmom's attic to pay for a surprise party for her grandmother.
Sesame Street in a series of videos is teaching the principles of spending, saving and sharing. The package "For Me, For You, For Later," on DVD, can be picked up free at any PNC bank, Sesame's partner for the project and downloaded on the Web. On the video Elmo turns down an ice cream cone, saving money to buy a ball; he earns money by folding clothes.
JumpStart's executive director asserts in The New York Times that we won't know for twenty years if these materials will make a difference; but she notes that watching children question and absorb such lessons should make adults aware of the examples they set.
Reported By Dr. Marciene Mattleman, KYW Newsradio
