To Save Or To Spend - A Dilemma Of Parents
It used to be when children were encouraged to save their loose coins in piggy banks to teach them the virtue of frugality or thrift.
Parents gift their children with all sorts of attractive containers wherein coins could be dropped.
They came in various forms like miniature globes, animal forms, fake books, etc, to make them more interesting to children to save for the future.
However, global economy has changed so much from those times.
Various currencies have changed values, either by devaluation or inflation based on economic trends of different countries.
As a result of these economic upheavals, the value of the coins stashed in piggy banks has changed drastically, often rendering them almost useless.
In this age of global cyber communication, slight movements in the status of economy and finances of countries have instant impact in the value of the coins stashed in the children's piggy banks...
which are, unfortunately, on the negative direction.
In this not so bright economic scenario, would it not be better if we make those coins roll and help prop up their sagging values, or at least, take advantage of whatever value is left in them instead of letting them slowly lose their worth? Now, how could it be explained to the children this 180-degree turnaround in the lesson on frugality? Not an easy task without losing the credibility (or wisdom?) of the adult.
Giving children a lecture on global economy is a real gargantuan job for mere parents whose financial I.
Q.
s are usually based only on day-to-day running of household expenses.
To solve this new problem facing modern parents, a dilemma foreign to the older generations, new and oft untried solutions have to be formulated and tried in order to avoid a much difficult problem from arising- the loss of today's parents' credibility.
If the older and "wiser" generation could not make up their mind on what to do with a simple subject as money, how could they be trusted to guide the youth with much complicated issues in life? For years, school focused more on academic knowledge.
They prepare the youth for lucrative future as passive participants, rather than active molders, in their countries' economic growth.
They have been trained to be mere employees or workers whose only rolls in their governments' economy have been to pay their taxes.
The intricate problems of handling their countries' finances are left to their equally ill-equipped politicians, as far as their economic and financial expertise are concerned.
The solution to this problem, therefore, should rest, not only on the shoulders of the equally bewildered parents, but on the government as well, particularly in the updating of its educational system.
More emphasis should be given to the improvement of their youth's financial I.
Q.
s thus preparing them to manage their countries' economy much more effectively.
We come down to simple dilemma on what parents should teach their children as far as handling their money correctly is concerned: must they teach the younger generation to save or to spend?
Parents gift their children with all sorts of attractive containers wherein coins could be dropped.
They came in various forms like miniature globes, animal forms, fake books, etc, to make them more interesting to children to save for the future.
However, global economy has changed so much from those times.
Various currencies have changed values, either by devaluation or inflation based on economic trends of different countries.
As a result of these economic upheavals, the value of the coins stashed in piggy banks has changed drastically, often rendering them almost useless.
In this age of global cyber communication, slight movements in the status of economy and finances of countries have instant impact in the value of the coins stashed in the children's piggy banks...
which are, unfortunately, on the negative direction.
In this not so bright economic scenario, would it not be better if we make those coins roll and help prop up their sagging values, or at least, take advantage of whatever value is left in them instead of letting them slowly lose their worth? Now, how could it be explained to the children this 180-degree turnaround in the lesson on frugality? Not an easy task without losing the credibility (or wisdom?) of the adult.
Giving children a lecture on global economy is a real gargantuan job for mere parents whose financial I.
Q.
s are usually based only on day-to-day running of household expenses.
To solve this new problem facing modern parents, a dilemma foreign to the older generations, new and oft untried solutions have to be formulated and tried in order to avoid a much difficult problem from arising- the loss of today's parents' credibility.
If the older and "wiser" generation could not make up their mind on what to do with a simple subject as money, how could they be trusted to guide the youth with much complicated issues in life? For years, school focused more on academic knowledge.
They prepare the youth for lucrative future as passive participants, rather than active molders, in their countries' economic growth.
They have been trained to be mere employees or workers whose only rolls in their governments' economy have been to pay their taxes.
The intricate problems of handling their countries' finances are left to their equally ill-equipped politicians, as far as their economic and financial expertise are concerned.
The solution to this problem, therefore, should rest, not only on the shoulders of the equally bewildered parents, but on the government as well, particularly in the updating of its educational system.
More emphasis should be given to the improvement of their youth's financial I.
Q.
s thus preparing them to manage their countries' economy much more effectively.
We come down to simple dilemma on what parents should teach their children as far as handling their money correctly is concerned: must they teach the younger generation to save or to spend?
