You want your kids to learn real-life skills like money management and business, but you know lecturing will only get you so far. They need a fun, interactive and entertaining experience for the information to stick.
Enter mobile apps. If your kids love their screen time and can't get enough of online games, you're in luck. There are tons of educational mobile apps that teach kids about money, and a few stand out from the others. Here's a roundup of the 6 best.
- My Piggy Bank. Moms of preschoolers are often amused to hear kids call all coins "monies." At this age, your child's skill level is limited to sorting coins, learning their values, and basic concepts like skip counting. Sharpen these skills with My Piggy Bank from the Learning Gems developers. Kids don't need to be able to read to navigate this app, a huge bonus for little learners.
- Amazing Coin(USD). Another great preschool money app is Amazing Coin(USD). It's remarkable for its help in teaching your youngest kids to recognize coins, spell them, and determine which ones are more valuable than the others.
- Splash Money. Elementary school kids enjoy Splash Money, an application worked into the Splash Math curriculum, used in over 30,000 schools nationwide. With Splash Money, kids encounter scenarios to teach basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and yes, even division of cash. Examples include:"Bill has $0.45 and Selena has $0.48. How much money do they have together?" and, "If you could save a dollar a day, how long would it take you to save up for a $14 toy?" These real-world scenarios are hypothetical, but your youngster encounters similar questions every day, and the skills learned on this app help navigate those situations effortlessly. The first month of the home edition is free, so check it out and strengthen the arithmetic portion of your kids' financial education.
- Motion Math. The developers at Motion Math Games know that inside every middle schooler is a little entrepreneur. Inspire the CEO within by handing your child a fledgling pizzeria enterprise or cupcake shop. Whichever company she chooses to cultivate, your pre-teen will learn the benefits of sourcing quality ingredients to craft an artisanal product to market, package and deliver. With a mobile app this fun, you'll be tempted to play more often than your child!
- Kids Money. It won't be long before your kid starts wanting those big ticket items. Bikes, laptops, and organized trips are pricey, and come at a cost. That cost, in kid-speak, is determination. If your child persists and sacrifices short-term "wants" for long enough, he or she can achieve that bigger buy that otherwise would have been impossible. Kids Money is a visual cheerleader that helps your child track each step along the way, motivating young savers to stay the course – a lesson that will prove quite valuable in adulthood.
- Student Stock Trader. Remove the common stock market perception of nerdy number crunchers and Wall Street bigwigs for your high schooler with the Student Stock Trader. This app both demystifies the topic and empowers kids to decide what makes a company valuable, risky, or cold. The lessons your teen will learn run the gamut from economics to social capital and stock exchange terminology. By the time he's made a few trades, your child will be telling you which businesses in real life are strong, and why. He'll know where to find the good stuff on a company's annual report, income statement, or balance sheet. Who knows – he may even teach his parents a thing or two.
Whether your kids are learning to sort coins or start a business (or more likely, something in between), you can be there to help cheer them on. Let one of these brilliant mobile apps teach kids about money so you can enjoy the "ah-ha" moments together.
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