"Raising Financially Fit Kids" and "A Chair for My Mother"

story time

GOOD BOOKS FOR BIGS AND LITTLES

In the last few weeks I've read two great books centered on kids and money which, now that I reread that sentence, doesn't sound like it would be all that fun. Both of these books, however, were great reads.

raising financially fit kids

The first, Raising Financially Fit Kids by Joline Godfrey, is part personal finance book and part parenting book. In my own life, I feel I've had to learn many financial lessons the hard way, and several times, reading this book I had the thought, "Wow, I wish my parents would have done that with me." This is not to place blame on my parents. As Godfrey points out in the book, the financial world of today is far more complex than it was in our parents' or even our own generation. What really stands out for me in this book is: (1) clear, practical, actionable strategies for every age group of child and (2) an ethically-driven approach to money.

Actions, not Suggestions

This book contains a wealth of resources and practical, actionable suggestions. At times, both parenting and finance guides can be vague; not this one. Godfrey provides clear actions for every age group of child (even if you've left these lessons until your kids are in their 20s), including scripts for conversations, a wealth of resources, and charts and tables to help you map out your strategies.

Money and Ethics

In a tie for my favorite part of this book, Godfrey places a huge emphasis on using money to shape a world that matches a family's or (as a child ages) individual's values. This focus on the ethical use of money starts from the very beginning, when kids are taught to divide their allowance ("a tool for learning how to manage money, not an entitlement" to paraphrase Godfrey's words) into three categories: spending, saving and giving. But Godfrey's approach grows more sophisticated as the child ages, teaching them to do due diligence when making investments in philanthropic causes.

A Chair for My Mother

Around the same time I picked this book up from the library, my daughter picked out A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams (This obituary of Williams only made me love this book more). At first I wasn't sure if this book was a good choice for her; she's three and it has a lot of words. But this one turned out to be a winner.

The story chronicles how a daughter, mother and grandmother work together to save for a new chair, after they lose all their belongings in an apartment fire. Despite the generosity of their neighbors--who donate pots and pans, beds, and toys--they still lack a place to sit comfortably at the end of the day. This is a special hardship as the primary breadwinner in this family, the narrator's mother, is a waitress.

There are several great things about this book: with little fanfare, apology or backstory, it shares a family story in a single-parent household (the reality for many people); it also shares another reality many (if not most) families contend with: financial difficulty. I think kids, especially those who grow up in families where money is tight, want to know that other kids experience this too. If every kid in books has a "perfect" life, what does that say about your (not perfect) life? The book talks about a community and a family coming together to support one another, and finally, in the theme of this post, the book talks about how hard work, collaboration, frugality and saving can help you realize a goal--and not just a material goal, but a goal that brings people closer together.

Have you read a great book about kids and money? Tell us about it below.

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