Business Games for Kids: Easy Ways to Improve Financial Education in Young Kids

Introduction

Giving timely education to kids about important aspects of life, such as soft skills, personal hygiene habits, and sustained study practices may help them develop into responsible individuals. However, learning doesn't have to be just limited to all these things. Street smartness and practical intelligence are also very important for a child to live out there independently and make mindful decisions.

Out of many things in life, learning about important financial terms early may help a child become financially prudent as an adult. While educating them verbally and showing them, supportive material is a good way of enhancing their financial knowledge, one can add some fun factor by bringing games into the equation. There are a lot of financial board games and role-play games that parents may incorporate into a child's everyday routine to make the kid more financially aware and intelligent.

Creative Games and Activities for Fostering Financial Education Among Kids

Here is a list of some interesting games to enhance financial education among kids.

• Let’s Budget

This game is about teaching kids how to budget, that is, divide money into various segments for proper savings and spending. It is a fun game that can be played with the help of some fake currency. Parents may give this currency to the child and ask them to make mindful decisions about where, and how to use it. You may simply keep some random eatables and toys in front of the child and ask them to divide the money among these things and encourage them to save the money for the next day as well. It is an extremely exciting way of teaching kids how to budget while keeping a tap on different types of expenses.

• Coin Caterpillars

To play this game, you may simply place different currency coins in a row on a blank sheet of paper. Now, with the help of a sketch pen, you may draw the legs and the antenna of a caterpillar to make the coins look like a caterpillar. It is an exciting way of pointing out the difference between various types of coins and their currency denomination to kids who are just starting to understand the variance in currencies.

• Running a Stall

You may also encourage your child to start a small enterprise of their own at home and sell whatever they're making to everyone in the family in return for money. One of the best ideas is to start a small lemonade stall. You may begin with simply teaching your child how to make a lemonade and assist them in making it. Now you may set up a small table with glasses and lemonade. A great idea to make it even more interesting is to make some banners for customers and write the price of each glass. This can help a child understand the concept behind earning and income and the cost of inventory that goes into making money out of a business.

• Board Games

Financial education can be imparted among kids through the aid of board games, such as monopoly, business, cash flow, and so much more. Each of these games makes a child enter the world of investments where they indulge in real-life experiences of buying property and investing in different activities. With the aid of artificial money and fake credit cards, children may also understand the concept of credit and debit early on. Since this game also requires one particular child to play the role of a banker, kids may also learn many new terms.

• Bartering Practice

To teach kids about the basics of financial transactions, bartering is a great way to build foundational conceptual knowledge. It is a practice of exchanging one good with the other through negotiations. Parents can indulge in barter trades with their children by exchanging their toys for chocolate or something similar. This can help them truly understand the value of each good in comparative terms and also get a clear understanding of what they truly want.

• Financial Activities

A great way to make financial understanding and literacy more interesting is by formulating mathematical puzzles about a particular financial situation. Also, while going out to shop, you may take your child along and encourage them to calculate the price of everything that you have bought. Additionally, you may show them shopping or restaurant bills to get a better understanding of various types of taxes that are supposed to be paid at restaurants and other such places. Through such creative activities and games, kids may understand financial terms through real-life, experiences, and exposure.

Conclusion

To accelerate your child's financial education, you can simply start by slipping such creative activities into their everyday routine to give them an insight into the world of investment and income. This ensures that the child develops into an individual who is confident and makes reliable financial decisions.

References

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329579116_The_use_of_business_simulation_games_in_teaching_and_learning

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10783726/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352968929_A_Study_of_Several_Financial_Literacy_Teaching_Methods_for_Children