Talking to your Teen Tip #2
Encourage your Teen to Learn by Doing
We all know that you can’t learn just by reading a book. You may read planting and growing instructions for, let’s say, a tomato plant. But have you ever tried to grow tomatoes? If you have, your first attempt may have failed. If you stuck with it the next year, you may have gotten excellent results. The only way to gain success and experience is always by doing.
The best reason for encouraging your teen to learn and put to practice all the saving and investing concepts now, is that they have little to lose in their teen years. They have time to recover from their losses, which makes the teen years the best time to experience loss.
Let your teen “fall off the horse”, and help them to find the courage to get back on and learn how to ride!
When it comes to saving, don’t force your teen to establish your level of saving. Let them decide, and then talk to them about it works out. They may save too much and deny themselves simple pleasures. Or they may save too little and spend frivolously. You may encourage them to save by rewarding their savings with your own contribution to their account. But whatever you do, make sure they are active participants in their own savings.
When your teen has saved enough money to start an investment account, let her (or him) do the research and decide on her own investment purchases. Remember, a loss now is a valuable lesson! When she experiences gains on her investments, she should feel that her successes are a result of her own research and her own decisions!
Resist the temptation to control your teen’s experience! There is a big difference between guiding your teen and doing the work for them. He (or she) will only enjoy and learn from his enterprises if he feels in control.
Successful saving and investing habits are best established early in life. This is your opportunity to teach your teen the lesson of a lifetime!
Click here to read the next article:
"Share Your Own Successes and Mistakes"
