It can seem like the technology and financial industries are taking over the world, but that does not mean that children are necessarily going to be interested in fintech. It may be they are more interested in sport or the arts, but it may also be the case that they simply do not understand how important these industries have become to the modern world and the doors they can open for them in the future.
So, how can you encourage your child to find an interest in tech or finance?
1. Buy them a RaspberryPi
There is no better way to get started in tinkering with technology than the RaspberryPi. The single board computer is the little computer that can – whether they are interested in running a home media center to stream their favourite episodes of Dr Who or Star Wars: Bad Batch, or creating a smart picture frame to rotate their favourite pictures of their friends, there is a RaspberryPi project to achieve just that. The little device could even be your child’s first PC, giving them access to a variety of games and gamified tutorials on how to code. And code is at the heart of all fintech.
2. Invest in a portfolio for them with a UGMA account
Understanding how the stock market works is an incredibly useful skill for anyone as they grow up and start to earn and save money. In the US, you can open a tax-efficient UGMA account to invest in their future and learn about how the world works at the same time. A UGMA can be used to pay for anything that benefits your child, which could be an after-school program when they are young or a deposit for their first home. However you want to spend the money in the future, it is just as important to use the account to help your child learn about how investments work and the value of money.
3. Teach them to budget with a prepaid card
We all use cash less and less, so giving a child their pocket money in cash is not as useful as it used to be. Instead, give your child a prepaid credit card and let them use that for their spending – letting them choose whether they want to spend all their pocket money or allowance on that toy today, or start saving now for that bigger and better toy in a few weeks or months time. Not only can a prepaid card be used to help your child spend their money and learn to budget, but the associated child-focused apps provided by some banks will help them track their spending too.
4. Encourage their entrepreneurship
Saving and budgeting will help a child learn about the value of money, but many children will also show interest in making money of their own, whether that is to save up for a new toy or part of a charity drive. Most successful business people start their entrepreneurial journey from a young age, whether that is selling lemonade from a stand or renting items they own to others in their class. Sharing should always be encouraged as well, but if your child is starting to create their own games or similar, encouraging them to sell or rent access to these games could be a fantastic way to learn about how the economy works.
5. Make learning fun by creating a game
Learning about technology and finance should not become a chore. If you try and force these tools and ideas onto your children, it’s unlikely they will find any real interest in them in the future. Instead, try to make learning these new skills fun and with realistic outcomes your child might enjoy, such as learning to code by following tutorials to create a game your child might want to play and share with their friends.
6. Invest in the right toys
All children enjoy building and creating, and it is these themes that underpin much of the technologies we use today. Whilst toys like Lego may seem simple, they help children understand how to build, and as they get older the Lego Technics series offers a great way to encourage a child to build something in robotics or engineering.