Given today’s economic climate, the earlier that financial education begins the better. Debt is crippling the world right now and many cities, particularly in the U.S. are considering the addition of financial literacy to their curriculums. Toronto District School Board (TDSB) trustee Josh Matlow has proposed that students should be taught about financial matters like credit cards, personal finances, debt and the stock market and Education Minister Kathleen Wynne says that she’s willing to consider adding economic literacy to the provincial curriculum.

I think that it’s a great idea to educate our children with valuable skills for living. We need to do more to prepare children for life in the real world. Although I can still remember that the definition of osmosis is diffusion through a membrane from biology class, financial literacy classes would have benefited me much more. The TDSB currently offers optional economics courses in Grades 11 and 12, but nothing prior to that. Mr. Matlow believes that understanding economic literacy should be part of an Ontario diploma and suggests that economic literacy classes should start as early as Grade 4.

Financial education should not rest solely on the shoulders of our school boards. Families must play their part and start talking about money with their children. Teaching children the value of a dollar begins at home. This can be done with allowances, payment for chores, and saving for a special purchase. Children learn spending habits and attitudes towards money from their parents. You can’t take them to the mall and buy them everything that they want and then argue in front of them about money problems. Be honest about money and include your children in the discussion.