Publication: DNA Mumbai; Date: March 2, 2010; Section: Miscellaneous; Page: 8
Heres a way you can teach your kids to be financially literate at a very early age. Mumbai-based financial planner Amar Pandit, who has advises celebrities, NRIs, corporate head honchos, et al, on their finances, has decided to impart financial literacy among children through his new book. Pandits book — The Art and Science of Teaching Children about Money — which will hit the stands next week is a guide for parents to educate their kids about finances.
Pandit believes that most parents do not take the initiative of teaching their children about money. “In my experience, kids in the age group of 5-12 are very receptive to financial literacy, and hence it is the best age to start teaching them about finance,” said Pandit.
The idea of the book occurred to Pandit from his own personal experience when he used to take his 3-year-old daughter to the bank for depositing cheques or withdrawing money. His daughter never asked him any questions but keenly observed each and every action of his at the bank. After some time she started to recognise all the banks; thats when it struck Pandit that children are keen learners and grasp everything they observe.
But they dont have a source of enlightenment. “There were two ways to go about it. I could have aimed at the children and made them aware of the book, or I could have focused on the parents and made them realise the need to teach their child,” Pandit said. The latter path seemed the more fruitful one for the financial planner.
Pandit interacted with children and found that they all knew what an ATM was. According to them, it is a machine that dispenses money. “But what they werent aware of was that to use an ATM one needs to have a bank account. They thought it was a machine that dispenses free money,” said Pandit. “And, the best people to explain this to children are their parents.”
Pandits book has been written in a simple way as the whole idea is to make learning for children simple. Pandit has used many interesting anecdotes to make learning easier. In his book, Pandit has compared life insurance to an injured cricketer. The protective gear that a cricketer wears for not getting injured is synonymous with life insurance, Pandit writes in the book.
Jewellery designer Shaheen Abbas, who is excited to be part of Pandits book, feels strongly about teaching children matters related to finance. “My son, Arsalaan, celebrated his birthday couple of days back. He got gifts and some money. I told him to save half the money and spend the other half. Initially, he was upset but then he realised the importance of it,” said Shaheen.
Pandit firmly believes that its better for children to commit mistakes at a young age rather than commit financial blunders as grown ups.
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