There was this Wall Street Journal commercial I remember seeing when I was younger. Part of their "Adventures in Capitalism" campaign. (Link at the bottom). I remember thinking - can a newspaper really make you successful? What's funny is, I wasn't their core audience at the time. I mean, not really. Just like the e*Trade baby wasn't for babies.
I don't know what the marketing folks behind either company thought when putting together their plans, but as a young viewer, I'm sure I thought about them differently - Could that be me? And now - Why couldn't that be true? Better yet, why isn't that the case for kids?
We heighten young people who can do amazing things when they put their minds to it, at unbelievable ages. Simon Biles, Christian Li, Abhimanyu Mishra, Laurent Simons to name a few. Alright, let's be honest, these are some astounding young people. But what they do for their respective interest is drive more kids (and adults) to believe they can do that, too. I think that's what I was picking up when watching that WSJ ad. Why not me? Is the pursuit not worthwhile if I don't become Michael Phelps?
Fast forward to now, and it got me thinking - why? Why not teach money to kids? We can't know potential if our kids don’t have opportunity, right? But for so many of us, that’s a scary step. Money is too important…It's not a toy…Not something to play with.
For me, I personally think the stigma that money is out of reach for young children creates a shadowy perception of the value it should play in our lives. Imagine if Tiger Woods was told - no, you can't play this game. ~~It's for big kids~~. It's for adults!
My point is, giving access to money early without the stigma is a good thing. We encourage kids to learn how to take risks just as they might on the playground with that huge slide. Or help them see challenges of not having enough money as something they can overcome, just like riding a bike for the first time. It's not everyday you get to learn something new. That moment is precious and something to be in awe of, and aren't we parents so lucky to see our kids do the thing their first time.
"I remember when she dusted herself off, looked at that skateboard, got back up, and she landed it. My little Tony Hawk in the making."