Tween Time

All About Tweens

How to Talk to Your Tween About Tough Economic Times

Tough economic times can throw a curveball at everyone in a family--especially the kids in their tween years. Tweens want cool clothes and stuff like IPODS, computers and new cell phones to keep up with their friends. Oftentimes, parents are left shaking their heads and wondering how they can help their kids understand that "money doesn't grow on trees," and that they can’t have everything they really, really "need."

Here are a couple of simple ideas to help your tween understand what things cost:

Help tweens understand how to make good financial choices.
Discuss with your tween how much money your family has to spend--on entertainment, for example--and then bring them in on the decision-making on how to spend it. Here you have the chance to say, "We can go to one, new release movie this month as a family, or we can rent ten movies. You decide." You'll be surprised at which one they choose.

Teach tweens about the value of money.
Have your tween pick one of her favorite breakfast cereals and have her follow the cost of it over a period of several months. In short order, your tween will see why skyrocketing food costs have you thinking twice about what you can afford on a budget. It may only be a few pennies here and there, but over the course of six months, she will begin to see how much her favorite breakfast cereal has risen in price. Before long, she will be checking the sales flyers for you!

Have fun without spending a ton of dough.
Discuss with your tween how you can cut costs by making your own fun. Encourage them to pull out a couple of board games or craft projects in the basement for a "Saturday Night Family Fun Night," (page 103 in Tween Time), or let her Feng Shui her bedroom on a shoestring budget (page 79 in Tween Time), or go with her on a shopping spree in her own closet and then host a fashion show in your living room for friends and family (page 25 in Tween Time). You'll find that you can make your own fun with what you already have.