Children tend to do some strange things. It’s just part of being a kid, really. When their behavior turns concerning, though, it’s time to pay attention and make sure everything is okay.
One dad was well aware of this when what seemed like a harmless quirk started to go too far. Apparently, his son had been throwing away money because he didn’t like coins, specifically.
A dad took to Reddit to share his son’s behavior that he found worrisome.
“My son throws away coins,” he stated. “He says he doesn’t like them and they’re not worth saving.”
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The short post was accompanied by a photo of a white garbage can with an assortment of coins in the bottom.
The inference that could be drawn from the post was that the dad was upset because his son was effectively throwing away money — although a few coins admittedly don’t add up to much, especially in today’s economy.
Still, he has probably been trying to teach his son about money and now feels that he has completely disregarded its importance.
Reddit
“Y’all need to extend a hand of understanding,” he said. “In his lifetime, none of those coins have ever been able to buy a single thing. With the advent of digital banking, it’s kinda unusual for a kid to be handling cash in the first place, and even if they are, what can they do with a quarter?”
He continued, “You can’t play in arcades anymore, or if you can, they’ve got some kind of card system. Vending machines are at least a dollar, candy is at least a dollar. There’s just no connection to tangible value for kids.”
Furthermore, he had a suggestion for the frustrated father.
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“Maybe get him a piggy bank, or just, when you have a bunch of coins for some reason, take him to the coin counter at the bank so he can see it get converted into numbers on a screen, the way people interact with money most these days,” he recommended.
It makes sense that in the world nowadays, a kid might not readily understand the value of coins or cash. The dad did not disclose how old his son is, but the younger he is, the more likely this is.
Teaching kids about money is still an important parenting task, even if there’s little chance they’ll have to count any of it out any time soon.
Fidelity Investments recommended beginning to teach children about spending using paper money and coins since they are physical representations of what is being spent or saved.
“It’s the tangibility of money that makes it such a useful tool in teaching children how the world is structured,” they said. “Coins and bills are tangible and visible. Kids still see them every day, and they quickly grasp the general concept.”
Then, Fidelity suggested moving on to banking when kids are in elementary school. An allowance is a good opportunity to do this.
“Show your kids how you’re paying them by putting money into their online account,” they said. “When they want to spend physical money, a trip to the automatic teller machine (ATM) to get cash will reinforce how real money can become digital money, and vice versa. Explain that banks hold both hard currency and virtual money.”
While we don’t know much about the situation described in the Reddit post, it’s possible that this little boy has not been taught about money yet, or at least has not been taught about physical, tangible money.
He would probably benefit from an early financial literacy lesson or, at the very least, the reminder that coins shouldn’t be thrown away.
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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.
