Money Lessons in Online Worlds Tips

What kids learn online

What are kids learning?

  • Almost 2/3 of 8- to 12- year-olds say they would be happier if they had more money to buy themselves things
  • Kids age 13 to 17 have 145 conversations about brands per week
  • Tweens are more likely than teens to want the things their friends have
Advice and Answers

What are your kids learning about money online?

Remember those marathon Monopoly games? We stacked up piles of cash and property, and when it was finally over, we put it all away in a box. Well, there’s a new game in town, and it deals with money, too. But it’s ongoing – anytime your child is at the computer, it picks right up where they left off. It’s an online world that’s teaching your kids how to value money – and the things it can buy.

What are they?

Sites like Disney’s Club Penguin and Toontown, WeeWorld, WebKinz, and BarbieGirls are social networking spots for the pre-teen set (6- to 12-year-olds). Each of these sites have fictional coins and economic systems that are used as player rewards. Kids both “earn” money and search for it so they can upgrade their characters’ wardrobes, abilities, and environments. On Club Penguin, each game awards players with virtual coins – which paid members can use to purchase virtual clothes and outfit their igloos with the latest gear. Kids can also go to the store to buy real T-shirts, hats, and key chains.

Why they matter

Every family has different values about money. And it’s important for each family to give their own advice to their kids. Thing is, these sites have one purpose: to encourage getting and spending. On something as important as personal finance, the best messages should come from parents, not Web sites that are in the business of keeping kids online and ensuring repeat visitors.

Kids learn to assess their own value by how much money they have. And this can get out of hand – so much so that some kids go online to find “cheats” to get more currency. This is the ideal time for parents to step in and have a conversation about saving, budgeting, and spending. Letting an 8-year-old figure it out for herself leaves her at the mercy of other peoples’ influences.

Parenting tips for elementary/middle school kids

  • Use the virtual currency to teach the value of money. Point out that money isn’t gained without effort. While kids trade tips and tricks for getting more money on the sites, you can explain how getting a job is also a really excellent source of income. Since these kids are too young for real paid employment, consider letting them earn an allowance for doing chores around the house.
  • Point out that spending is optional. Even though the sites make it unappealing to play without purchase, tell your kids that they can still do it.
  • Explain how spending is encouraged. Show your kids all the ways they’re encouraged to “buy.” In fact, kids quickly figure out that the more time they spend on a site, the more money they eventually get.
  • Detach purchase from pleasure. Ask your children whether they feel they have more fun when they’re buying and spending. Try to detach the act of purchasing from pleasure. Remember, kids become teens all too quickly, and you don’t want spending to be one of their emotional coping skills.
  • Point out greed. When someone’s more motivated by the desire to get more than play more, there’s a word for that. And you might as well teach it to your child. Greedy behavior has been known to occur on these sites and has even resulted in cheating.
  • Talk about saving versus spending. Help kids feel good about saving up for things. Talk about your own values when it comes to saving and spending. Point out that in the real world, debt (and all the worries that come with it) is the result of buying things you really can’t afford.
  • Envy is real. Just sit with an 8-year-old who’s walked into another girl’s igloo on Club Penguin and sees everything she dreams of owning. The urge to keep up with the Joneses starts young. Talk to your kids about times when you’ve felt envy about someone else’s home or possessions, and how you coped with it. This lesson will need repeating every year in every way, but it’s never too early to start.

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Our Community Says

How do you talk to your kids about saving vs spending?

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Posted by Cristofer W on 05/12/2009 (adult contributor)

Parents should instill to the young minds of their kids the importance of saving, that saving is being done in preparation for some financial emergency need. Also let them understand that buying too much toys and stuffs is not a good practice. Tell them the reality of life, it may be too early to tell them but it is better while they are still young they have the idea of what life is. Saving money has become the fashion, and it should be. (There's no reason for it to be a bad thing. The people who say it is want your money.) Well, there are tips all over the place that will help you in saving money, and CNN has some real humdingers. First, stretch everything as far as it can go. Cutting paper towels in half, even halving bacon can get some more mileage. Second, clip coupons – you'll save a lot of money over the year if you're diligent. Think of it as personal loans to yourself. And last, remember the Internet is a valuable resource for coupons and classifieds. You start getting debt relief if you start saving money.

http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/05/06/moneysaving-tips/

Posted by canisqueen on 12/29/2008 (teen contributor, age 14)

Well, I don't have kids, but a good thing to tell your kids is to only buy some things they want in online worlds. Buying too many things they want leaves less money to buy things their pets in Webkinz or Puffles in Club Penguin need.