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Why Parents Should Teach Kids to Give
Teaching children how to appropriately give money away can help them learn financial basics such as budgeting, and it may contribute to their well-being later in life, UA research suggests.
Alexis Blue
University Communications
May 28, 2019
Resources for the Media
Ashley LeBaron
Ashley LeBaron
Financial education often stresses the importance of earning and saving, but new research suggests that one of the most valuable lessons parents can teach their children about money might be how to appropriately give it away.
The study, led by University of Arizona researcher Ashley LeBaron and published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues, explores how financial-giving habits are passed down through generations, and how early life lessons in giving may contribute to personal and financial well-being later on.
Existing research has established that children learn more about finances from their parents than any other source. In previous work, LeBaron highlighted how important it is for parents to give their children hands-on experience with money, in addition to having discussions with them about money and presenting a good financial example.
LeBaron's new study suggests that hands-on experience with giving may be particularly important.
LeBaron and her collaborators interviewed 115 participants, including college students, parents and grandparents, about what they learned about money from their parents. The parent and grandparent participants also were asked what they taught their children about the topic, ultimately providing researchers a picture of how financial lessons are shared across four generations.
Participants were not asked to talk about financial giving directly, yet nearly 83 percent of them brought it up as an important part of the financial education they gave or received.
"When you think about money and what kids learn about money from their parents, most of us wouldn't think about giving as one of the basic principles of finance," said LeBaron, a doctoral student in the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences in the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "We tend to think more in terms of budgeting and saving and things like that, so it was surprising, but really cool, to see that giving was so prevalent."
Participants described different motivations for teaching their children about giving, including a sense a religious duty, a desire to help others and a desire to give back. They generally talked about three different types of giving:
Charitable donations. This encompasses monetary gifts to religious or charitable organizations.
Acts of kindness. This includes donations, gifts or acts of service provided more directly to people in need. Examples might include providing meals for homeless individuals or purchasing Christmas gifts for neighboring families in need.
Investments in family. This category encompasses financial decisions made by parents to benefit their children or family. For example, some parents might make financial sacrifices in order to enroll a child in sports or music lessons, or to plan a family vacation.
Teaching kids to give is important for a couple of reasons, LeBaron said.
From a practical standpoint, it can be a good way for kids to learn financial basics, like budgeting and saving. For example, some study participants talked about having money jars from a young age, with one jar dedicated to money they would save, another for money they would spend and one for money they would give.
"If a certain percentage of your money goes toward giving, that's the start of a budget right there," LeBaron said.
Lessons in giving may also help set the stage for a happier, healthier future.
"People who are generous tend to be happier and have healthier relationships, so this is shaping not only kids' finances but aspects of their health and well-being," LeBaron said.
Parents who already make it a habit to give financially should make it a point to let their children witness that behavior, LeBaron said. Or even better, they should consider involving their children directly in giving activities.
LeBaron and her colleagues also found that just as parents can influence their kids' financial behaviors, so, too, can kids influence their parents.
"Parents and grandparents report that they have this awareness that their kids are learning financial attitudes and values from them, so sometimes they were more giving because they knew that their children were watching them, and they wanted to set that good example," she said.
LeBaron said she was inspired by how many people in the study stressed the importance of giving and caring for others. She said it could have implications for not only how parents talk to their kids about money, but also how educators discuss the topic.
"In finance classes, we never talk about giving," LeBaron said. "But we learned that giving is maybe one of the more important facets of financial socialization, so we need to be paying more attention to how it is taught."
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Social Sciences and Education
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Alexa Flash Briefing
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Research
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Contacts
Researcher contact:
Ashley LeBaron
UA Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences
801-404-8292
ash222@email.arizona.edu
Media contact:
Alexis Blue
University Communications
520-626-4386
ablue@arizona.edu
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Why Parents Should Teach Kids to Give
Teaching children how to appropriately give money away can help them learn financial basics such as budgeting, and it may contribute to their well-being later in life, UA research suggests.
Alexis Blue
University Communications
May 28, 2019
Resources for the Media
Ashley LeBaron
Ashley LeBaron
Financial education often stresses the importance of earning and saving, but new research suggests that one of the most valuable lessons parents can teach their children about money might be how to appropriately give it away.
The study, led by University of Arizona researcher Ashley LeBaron and published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues, explores how financial-giving habits are passed down through generations, and how early life lessons in giving may contribute to personal and financial well-being later on.
Existing research has established that children learn more about finances from their parents than any other source. In previous work, LeBaron highlighted how important it is for parents to give their children hands-on experience with money, in addition to having discussions with them about money and presenting a good financial example.
LeBaron's new study suggests that hands-on experience with giving may be particularly important.
LeBaron and her collaborators interviewed 115 participants, including college students, parents and grandparents, about what they learned about money from their parents. The parent and grandparent participants also were asked what they taught their children about the topic, ultimately providing researchers a picture of how financial lessons are shared across four generations.
Participants were not asked to talk about financial giving directly, yet nearly 83 percent of them brought it up as an important part of the financial education they gave or received.
"When you think about money and what kids learn about money from their parents, most of us wouldn't think about giving as one of the basic principles of finance," said LeBaron, a doctoral student in the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences in the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "We tend to think more in terms of budgeting and saving and things like that, so it was surprising, but really cool, to see that giving was so prevalent."
Participants described different motivations for teaching their children about giving, including a sense a religious duty, a desire to help others and a desire to give back. They generally talked about three different types of giving:
Charitable donations. This encompasses monetary gifts to religious or charitable organizations.
Acts of kindness. This includes donations, gifts or acts of service provided more directly to people in need. Examples might include providing meals for homeless individuals or purchasing Christmas gifts for neighboring families in need.
Investments in family. This category encompasses financial decisions made by parents to benefit their children or family. For example, some parents might make financial sacrifices in order to enroll a child in sports or music lessons, or to plan a family vacation.
Teaching kids to give is important for a couple of reasons, LeBaron said.
From a practical standpoint, it can be a good way for kids to learn financial basics, like budgeting and saving. For example, some study participants talked about having money jars from a young age, with one jar dedicated to money they would save, another for money they would spend and one for money they would give.
"If a certain percentage of your money goes toward giving, that's the start of a budget right there," LeBaron said.
Lessons in giving may also help set the stage for a happier, healthier future.
"People who are generous tend to be happier and have healthier relationships, so this is shaping not only kids' finances but aspects of their health and well-being," LeBaron said.
Parents who already make it a habit to give financially should make it a point to let their children witness that behavior, LeBaron said. Or even better, they should consider involving their children directly in giving activities.
LeBaron and her colleagues also found that just as parents can influence their kids' financial behaviors, so, too, can kids influence their parents.
"Parents and grandparents report that they have this awareness that their kids are learning financial attitudes and values from them, so sometimes they were more giving because they knew that their children were watching them, and they wanted to set that good example," she said.
LeBaron said she was inspired by how many people in the study stressed the importance of giving and caring for others. She said it could have implications for not only how parents talk to their kids about money, but also how educators discuss the topic.
"In finance classes, we never talk about giving," LeBaron said. "But we learned that giving is maybe one of the more important facets of financial socialization, so we need to be paying more attention to how it is taught."
Topics
Social Sciences and Education
Tags
Alexa Flash Briefing
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Research
Share This
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Related
May 28, 2019
Four Questions: History of the Bicycle
After their five-minute fast pitches, students answered questions and listened to feedback from community members. (Photo: Morgan Buttafuoco/College of Social and Behavioral Sciences)
May 13, 2019
Students Pitch Ideas for Improving Life in One Tucson Neighborhood
Center for Arabic Study Abroad fellows at an orientation dinner. (Photo courtesy of Harvard University)
April 16, 2019
Center for Arabic Study Abroad Moves to UA
Popular
1
February 19, 2018
Incivility at Work: Is 'Queen Bee Syndrome' Getting Worse?
2
November 6, 2017
Poor Social Skills May Be Harmful to Mental and Physical Health
3
December 12, 2018
Declining Snowpack over Western US Mapped at a Finer Scale
4
August 6, 2014
5 Things to Know About Rattlesnakes and Their Babies
5
January 17, 2019
Having a Partner Present – or in Mind – May Keep Blood Pressure Down
Get the latest.
Resources for the Media
Contacts
Researcher contact:
Ashley LeBaron
UA Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences
801-404-8292
ash222@email.arizona.edu
Media contact:
Alexis Blue
University Communications
520-626-4386
ablue@arizona.edu
Subscribe
Sent every Thursday, UANow brings you a quick summary of the top stories appearing on UANews, including news from the UA and headlines about the UA from around the state, the nation and the world.
RSS Listserv
UANews
UA@Work
news for employees
University Communications | 888 N. Euclid Avenue, Room 413 | Tucson, AZ USA 85721-0158 | Phone: 520-621-1877
© 2019 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona | Feedback
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