I have always heard that one popular opinion is that when it comes to kids you should never get them involved in adult situations. Essentially, it is expressed that they either wouldn’t understand or that kids deserve to be kids where it’s about having fun and growing up. Apparently the same should be true with money where you shouldn’t ever tell a child about things like financial difficulties.
I saw a complete contrast of that today where there was a child who really wanted to buy a video game system. However, she then began to say how her parents couldn’t afford it due to having to pay for things like a vehicle replacement due to an accident as well as one of the parent being unemployed. Therefore, she just needs to be patient where one save she will save enough to buy one.
I was thinking, what is wrong with a child understanding those kinds of financial difficulties and responsibilities in life? In many ways it probably goes a long way to encouraging them to manage their own money wisely as it gives them a sense of value for every dollar that they earn and receive. Not to mention less chances of them developing a mentality that everything is free only to get a big surprise when they grow up.
The main thing I feel would be overboard is if you pass on responsibilities to the child to say manage the finances for the household. That might be stretching it a bit too much.