Teaching can be fairly easy when it comes to your first few years as a parent. You’re taking care of your little one, you’re letting them develop their own interests, and on top of that you’re teaching them the basic things such as ABC and counting to ten. While the theory of teaching and taking care of children sound simple, in practice, it can be quite challenging of course. But as your child navigates through life, they’ll learn more about how to survive once they reach adulthood so they can thrive. While school can teach plenty of life lessons to your children, one thing they don’t teach is real estate.
Real estate and real estate investing are important. It needs to be known and understood so adults can purchase their first house. But property value isn’t the only thing either, interest, mortgage, banks, savings, and overall financial health also play a major impact in this as well. These are things that aren’t exactly covered in school, quite possibly in college as well. So, how can you teach this to your little one? How can you get them to understand the importance of financial health and the impact of real estate? These helpful tips may be all you need to get started on this journey.
Why is it so important to teach children about real estate?
Many people think that it is not a good idea to teach their kids about real estate because they want them to have a carefree childhood. While that’s understandable, a child has to learn so they can make smart decisions once they reach adulthood. Besides, there are many benefits to learning about real estate at a young age. Children who are taught about real estate at an early age are more likely to purchase their first home before the age of 30.
Start by teaching them the value of a dollar
Children believe that money is an infinite source, that there doesn’t need to be any work, trade, or anything in order to receive it. It’s natural for kids, especially small kids to have their train of thought. So, what can be done? First, begin by teaching them that money is a scarce resource and it’s not something that their parents can pull out of thin air. You just need to find an age-appropriate way to get them to understand, and one of the classic ways is through chores. Getting them to understand money at a young age is going to ensure financial wellbeing.
Letting them work for the money will also let them know that there needs to be some sort of trade to get money. It also teaches them that if they want something, they will need to work for it, and it also teaches them that the things they have, are thanks to their parents working for it. It takes a little while to teach, but kids will eventually get the understanding.
Let them play video games
While real estate is something that can be difficult to grasp for someone at any age, the sooner, the better. So teaching it to them at a young age will be optimal. If you love video games, then this could be a great and engaging way to have some fun with your child while also teaching them about real estate. There are plenty of video games that are out that do teach basic economics, financial health, and real estate. You, of course, will want to choose a game that can nicely reflect on your child’s age.
While The Sims franchise can be a great option if you have a tween to teenager, for the younger kids you could opt-in to playing Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon. This family fun bonding time can be one of the best ways to get your kid interested in real estate.
Get them involved
If you’re a property owner, why not talk about your property with your little one? You can explain the ways that you’re working towards raising the value of the property (such as home renovations or curb appeal), but if you have multiple properties, you can get them involved in that as well. This can include letting them look at a lodger agreement template for your tenants, but you can even teach them the odds and ends of how you invest.
Children are visual learners, so getting them to learn all about this up-close and personal can be a great way to get them to understand all about it. So just bring them along when you’re working on boosting property value, managing money for your real estate, and when you’re hunting for real estate to buy. It can be a great educational experience for them.
[…] most impactful way to provide your children with a comprehensive real estate education goes beyond formal lessons; it involves spending quality time with them and seamlessly integrating […]