As summer winds down and another school year revs up, maybe you're looking for some new ways to entertain – and enlighten – your kids and teens.
How about some fun money lessons? Given Wall Street's zany zigzagging and the relentless drumbeat of stories about debt and more debt, we've all been a little preoccupied with the ups and downs of finances lately.
"It is not a topic that many parents like to talk about ... Some think money is only an adult topic. Or the schools should teach it. But that just doesn't happen," said Karyn Hodgens, a Rocklin-based kids-and-money instructor and co-founder of KidNexions, a financial education company.
Teaching kids to manage money "is like teaching your kid to ride a bike," said the former elementary school math teacher. "It takes practice. It takes making mistakes."
In recent weeks, a number of entrepreneurs, nonprofits and financial companies have launched some new money-management tools for kids, from tots to teens.
Here's a look at some:
Pig out on money goals
T. Rowe Price, the global investment company, has a free activity book with mazes, crosswords and games that show kids how to reach a money goal – like buying a new video game or getting a puppy. It's available to download at www.troweprice.com.
Featuring the pink pig that's part of T. Rowe's family finance materials, the activity book promises to teach kids how to become "a finance smarty pants" with money vocabulary and concepts. It's part of T. Rowe's "Great Piggy Bank Adventure," which is both an online game and an interactive exhibit at Disney World Resort in Florida.
And for parents: T. Rowe's website hosts an amusing "When I Was Your Age" forum, written by adults (with goofy then-and-today photographs of themselves) about their childhood experiences with money, good and bad.
Save not spend
Started in Los Angeles by John Lanza, a former children's TV producer and father of two girls, the Money Mammals company recently packaged a new family kit featuring its DVD, picture book, allowance workbook and set of three saving-money jars. It's also working on an iPad app based on its colorful puppets, which make appearances around the country at schools and credit unions. The kit is $29.95 at www.themoneymammals.com.
Kids as young as 2 are bombarded with messages to buy, buy, buy, noted Lanza. "We need to instill the opposite message: to share and save money, not just spend it."
JA Finance Park targets teens
Co-sponsored by Junior Achievement USA and Capital One bank, this virtual computer game lets teenagers – and their parents – go through real-life financial situations together.
"This is the new birds-and-bees story. Everyone knows they need to have this conversation with their kids, but it's awkward," said Jack Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA.
Unlike the real-life money meltdowns that have plagued so many adults during the recent recession, Kosakowski says its video game is a way to acquire money-management skills where teens "can learn, make a few mistakes and not destroy their financial life."
In Finance Park, students and their parents get an avatar with a job, salary, car and a lifestyle to accommodate.
"When kids and adults play games together, the focus isn't on each other. They're having fun and solving a gaming problem that's a financial challenge," said Carolyn Berkowitz, Capital One's community affairs vice president.
After playing Finance Park, teens have commented, 'Now I get what my mom and dad go through with money,'" said Berkowitz. "Those 'aha' experiences for kids are priceless."
To play the game, go to: jafinancepark.ja.org. In addition, there are "Finance Park" locations in JA offices in 20 cities, including Los Angeles, where students can walk through stations to play the game.
DoughMain.com scaled to age groups
The new Princeton, N.J.-based startup company is focused on financial literacy with a trio of online games, based on age:
TheFunVault.com, ages 5-9, teaches coin recognition, needs vs. wants and other money basics.
SandDollarCity.com, ages 8-12, is a virtual computer game set in an underwater village where kids manage a candy shop. Akin to popular Farmville and similar simulation games, it lets kids buy inventory, make store upgrades, handle expenses, etc.
IRuleMoney.com, ages 13-19, has 30-second videos of teens talking to teens, answering questions on jobs, credit cards, car loans, even credit scores. The site, whose purple crown resembles a Sacramento Kings logo, also offers a prepaid Visa card for teens, but watching the videos is free.
Kenneth Damato, DoughMain's founder and CEO, said he got inspired to launch the company after watching his two sons handling their virtual dollars on Webkinz, the online pet-care website for kids.
"We don't want our children glued to a computer screen, if they're not learning something," Damato said. "So while you're cooking dinner or doing chores around the house, your kids can be learning something useful."
Damato said DoughMain's gaming content was designed by a part-time staff of elementary and high school teachers to meet national financial literacy standards for K-12 students.
Kids Money is an iPhone app
The free, updated iPhone app lets kids figure out how long they'll need to save for a toy, bike or other items. Available at www.apple.com/iTunes.
Of course, these are only a few of the dozens of kids-and-money resources out there. For additional resources, see accompanying list.
As many financial experts have noted, some of the recession's missteps were due to a lack of awareness by consumers in how to handle money, from loans to mortgages to credit cards.
Last summer, Lincoln resident Eileen Wilkens enrolled her then-10-year-old daughter in two money-management classes offered through a local parks department.
"There wasn't anything offered like that when I was growing up. We didn't get any kind of information on understanding money until we got to college," said Wilkens. "But due to the financial crisis, understanding how money and finances work will be crucial to kids today."
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Have a personal finance question? Call The Bee's Claudia Buck at (916) 321-1968.
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