Allow your child to pay the cashier for his candy bar. Make up games that help the child distinguish denominations. To spark a passion for savings, Euna Kwon, vice president of public relations and former education manager with Merrill Lynch, suggests parents take their children on a piggy-bank run. Even if youngsters can't save for more than a day or two, the habit of saving will begin to take root. That applies to kids, too.
Parents can do little things to help children stay on point.
On his piggy bank, tape a picture of what your child is saving for to help him visualize the goal, or offer a reward for saving, such as a trip to a favorite toy store, Kwon suggests. By age 9, many kids are ready to handle a savings account. Here's a perfect segue into the magic of compounding. He got the idea of what interest and compounding interest was. Keeping teenagers on the road to wealth is even trickier.