{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"","standfirst":"As much as we try and protect our kids, redundancies and job cuts are front and centre in the news at the moment. A few weeks ago we asked how we could talk to children and young people about family finances.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/10535/q1tw.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EHave a read of the brilliant advice leaders, parents and teachers shared, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.facebook.com/scoutassociation/photos/a.10152128782933021/10157335711663021/?type=3\u0026amp;theater\u0022\u003Eadd your own on our Facebook post\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u00A0\u003C/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAn activity for Scouts \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERoss told us about an activity he ran with his Scouts [aged 10\u201314]. \u2018Each patrol [group of Scouts] started with the average annual salary for the local area and then had to plan a month\u2019s budget based on what they considered to be essential.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt stimulated debate on various ideas (some couldn\u2019t imagine living without two cars or international travel, while others championed public transport and staycations or protecting the environment more than other activities).\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs they planned out their month\u2019s budget, I started introducing average local figures for all the bills they hadn\u2019t thought about (water, council tax, rent/mortgage, electricity, insurance). It was enlightening to see how wrong some of the budgets were, where they\u2019d included things, and what they thought was possible.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt was important to stress that no one view was more right than any other, but it opened some eyes about how much you need to earn to enjoy certain standards of living.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETalking about redundancy\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBelinda shared some advice on how to speak to young children about redundancies. She said: \u2018The couple of times when we\u2019ve faced redundancies, I was open and honest from the start. My child was young, but it\u2019s important that we have to make do and mend.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn the upside, the parent is home more but on the downside, money is less. It\u2019s important to explain that having the latest gadgets or gizmos isn\u2019t everything; what\u2019s more important is family.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve always explained about what gets paid out \u2013 utility bills, food, cars. Unfortunately money doesn\u2019t grow on trees.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAn activity for Cubs \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIan also shared an activity he\u2019s run with his Cubs [aged 8\u201310]. \u2018Have a chat about what adults have to pay when they work or don\u2019t work.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETurn it into a game where they have to work and get money every 10 minutes, then the banker takes his cut for rent and their government takes their cut etc.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy Cubs loved it, even though at the end they had nothing to buy tuck with.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESaving and spending\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMarie spoke about the ways she\u2019s explained finances to her sons: \u2018I find with my two boys that honesty and simple explanation is the best way. I explain that if they break things, it stops us from doing other things, etc.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey have a small amount of pocket money for chores that they learn to save for the things they want. They understand the idea of working hard to try and make sure you have enough to live.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECamp planning \u003C/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u00A0\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERos suggested getting young people involved in planning activities. \u2018Get the Scouts at all ages involved in camp planning. Then they\u2019ll understand the costs and why. We get Explorers [aged 14\u201318] to do the shopping and make sure it\u2019s in budget. Gets them thinking about costs of food, food quality and ethical standards. I\u2019d say it\u2019s a skill for life.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMake a pound grow\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJoanna shared an idea for an activity she runs with her Year 6 students at school. \u2018Each child gets \u00A31. They work in a small group to plan an activity to generate as much profit as they can over a few days or weeks.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe [\u00A31] stake buys the first ingredients/materials, they then hold events to sell [what they make] and can reinvest profits into the next event.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe profits go to a chosen charity, and the cohort competes against the previous Year 6\u2026 so the teams support each other. It\u2019s the highlight of the post-SATs summer term!\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOther advice\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere was far more brilliant advice on our social media posts than we could include here, \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.facebook.com/scoutassociation/photos/a.10152128782933021/10157335711663021/?type=3\u0026amp;theater\u0022\u003Eso make sure you have a read\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome groups have invited local speakers or parents with relevant experience to help teach children about finances and money worries, for example.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re grateful to everyone for taking the time to comment. Thank you!\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null},{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"15 August 2020","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48552,"nodeName":"How can we talk to children about money worries?","title":"How can we talk to children about money worries?","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/10535/q1tw.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd11198ac0","caption":"Q1TW","type":"jpg","size":1158984,"width":1920,"height":1080,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"How can we talk to children about money worries?","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODU1MiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2020/august/how-can-we-talk-to-children-about-money-worries/"}