Teaching children the value of money is one of the most important life lessons you can give them. One fun way of introducing kids to money is a savings box.

Now that the Easter holidays are only around the corner, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to teach Jake how to save, even though he is only 21 months old. He is starting to get a basic grasp of counting and loves watching television shows such as Sesame Street that encourage children to count.

Jake loves the sound of the coins rattling around in the piggy bank and it’s a great first introduction to learning to count and use numbers.

Where to start?

The first thing to do is to set out a goal of how much you want to save and how long you want to save for.

As Jake is only a toddler I thought I would keep the saving goal for one week and have a modest target of €10.

When we are in the supermarket using the self service tills. I like to count the items with Jake and say the total price of items, it’s great way of getting him familiar with numbers and distracting him too.

What is the incentive to save?

We are going to take a trip to the cinema to see the new film The Boss Baby starring Jimmy Kimmel, Alec Baldwin and Lisa Kudrow. A film about ” A suit-wearing briefcase-carrying baby who pairs up with his seven-year old brother to stop the dastardly plot of the CEO of Puppy Co”

This is the perfect compromise for me and Jake, its an animated film that Jake will love and also it something for the me to enjoy too with some of my favourite actors.

First Saving Box Checklist

  • Set a savings goal
  • Encourage counting
  • Have a piggy-bank
  • Reward