Ideas in the Wild: Paige Cornetet On Teaching Children To Have A Healthy Relationship With Money
As a parent, it’s easy to feel insecure. What vital knowledge from your childhood should you pass on to your kids? How do you teach the importance of kindness and respect? When do you introduce the concept of money? How are you intentional with the lessons you impart?
For Paige Cornetet and her three siblings, a childhood designed by their dad was a series of educational experiences woven into family activities. From investing in McDonald’s as a stock market activity to using chore assignments as an opportunity for negotiation, the Cornetet kids gained insight into important subjects at an early age. Now, in My Dad’s Class, Paige shares the strategies and principles her dad used to lay the groundwork for a happy, successful life.
Parenting isn’t always easy, but that doesn’t mean it has to be hard. I recently caught up with Paige to learn more about why she wrote the book and the ideas she shares with readers.
What problem do you see people struggling with?
In our fast-paced world, parents are busy. We work hard, we travel, we go to church and volunteer. And on top of all that, we want to give our children everything they need to thrive. That starts with the basics of food and shelter, but it also extends into the future and how to make sure our children can eventually provide those things for themselves.
This is the big question that all parents have: How do we make sure we teach our children everything they need to know to thrive. We all have our own specific version of this problem. For my dad, the question was, “How do I run a company and raise four kids in a way that lets me be present with them and teach them life lessons?”
That’s a tall order, and while I was thinking about my own transition into parenthood, I realized that all parents are wrestling with the same issue. How can you be absolutely sure you’re preparing your kids for life in the real world, where money can be tight and the pressure is high?
What’s an idea you share that really excites you?
Throughout our childhood, our dad made it very clear that money was something you had to earn. Even when we were very little, he talked about the work he was doing. He definitely wasn’t a parent who mysteriously disappeared during the day or kept his work life separate from his family. Since he worked from home, we got to watch him in action, and he spent a lot of time explaining what he did and connecting the dots that this is how our family had money for our house, clothes, and food. Money was always a part of everyday conversation.
Dad also made sure that our understanding of earning was very concrete. Talking about the value of work is one thing, but actually having to do it is another! Cleaning our rooms and zones was part of our duty to the family and was therefore unpaid, but Dad created a list of extra chores that we could do to earn more money. He posted the jobs and their wages right next to the poster of family sayings and laws, and we could choose whatever we wanted — or not to do any of them at all.
Just as the choice to spend or save our gold coins helped us understand the value of money, the choice of jobs helped us understand the value of our time. On a hot day, washing the car for ten dollars was a lot more fun than cleaning out a stifling garage. We learned to choose the jobs we liked best, were good at, or could do well to maximize our time and make the earning more enjoyable — valuable skills for the future, when we would have to decide on our adult careers.
How will following your advice improve your readers’ lives?
The solution to the problem of teaching children about money is to become very intentional about providing a financial education. Your children will learn money lessons from you no matter what, so why not be intentional about what you want to teach? It’s within your power to choose what they learn about money, and you can start very, very early.
You are your child’s first and best teacher. When you get intentional about the lessons you teach, you pass on your values and provide the tools they need to succeed.
Your kids will learn from you no matter what, as they watch what you do and listen to what you say — even when you think they aren’t paying attention. When you create a structure to live your values and impart your wisdom, you take control of the narrative and make sure that no learning is left to chance. If you don’t do it, who will?
