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The activityThrough pretend play and everyday activities young children can develop thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors that will lay the foundation for their later financial well-being. Children as young as three years of age begin to understand that you use money to purchase things, that you earn money by working, and that you can save money and wait to purchase things later.

You can help young children explore these concepts through pretend play—an activity that helps kids:

§ Practice and apply the things they’ve seen and learned in life

§ Use their imagination to learn about themselves and the world around them

§ Develop flexible thinking to solve problems and work through situations

§ Learn patience as they interact and take turns with others

§ Use self-control to stay in character

§ Plan and develop strategies for their play, and more

Set up Use simple, everyday items in pretend play and let your children’s imagination do the rest. Listen to your kids, follow their lead, and help them stick to their “roles” and incorporate new ideas.

What to do Use the suggested scenarios and props to get started. Then, follow and play off your children’s imagination while weaving in different situations based on your role. Help your child go on a pretend shopping trip, visit a bank, open a new store, or even invent a new country with new types of money.

Things to do afterwardsAfter the pretend play, try these everyday activities to support these same skills and abilities:

§ Free play in which young children can direct their own play, be creative, and use their imagination

§ Games and sports in which young children must wait their turn, follow directions, focus, and use their memory

§ Shopping in which young children can help you prepare and stick to a shopping list (young children can make a collage using pictures from weekly store flyers or magazines), clip coupons, compare and decide between items, and identify whether items are needs versus wants

§ Problem solving when playing or when resolving issues between siblings or friends

§ Following house, daycare, or school rules

§ Household activities in which young children can help plan and prepare a meal or pick their clothes for the next day

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Pretend play

Goi

ng to

wor

k an

d ea

rnin

g m

oney

Gro

cery

shop

ping

B

anki

ng

As a

wor

ker,

you

mig

ht:

§W

ork

hard

and

list

en to

you

r em

ploy

er o

r bos

s §G

et e

xcite

d ab

out p

ayda

y an

d ge

tting

you

r pa

yche

ck §D

epos

it al

l or p

art o

f you

r pay

chec

k at

the

bank

§Ta

lk a

bout

how

you

’re g

oing

to sp

end

som

e of

yo

ur p

aych

eck

As a

n em

ploy

er o

r bos

s, yo

u m

ight

: §H

elp

wor

kers

lear

n th

eir j

ob a

nd d

irect

them

on

wha

t the

y ne

ed to

do

§Pa

y w

orke

rs fo

r the

ir w

ork

Prop

s you

mig

ht u

se:

§Pl

ay to

ols a

nd to

olbo

x or

tool

bel

t for

a

cons

truc

tion

wor

ker,

mec

hani

c, b

uild

er,

engi

neer

, and

oth

er si

mila

r job

s §A

n ap

ron;

pla

y fo

od, c

ookw

are,

and

dish

es; a

pa

d, a

nd p

enci

l or p

en fo

r a se

rver

or c

ook

§A

whi

te b

utto

n sh

irt o

r jac

ket,

play

med

ical

ca

re k

it or

lab

set,

note

pad,

and

pen

or p

enci

l fo

r a d

octo

r, nu

rse,

vet

erin

aria

n, sc

ient

ist,

rese

arch

er a

nd o

ther

sim

ilar j

obs

§A

play

lapt

op fo

r com

pute

r or a

dmin

istr

ativ

e as

sista

nt jo

bs §C

lass

room

pla

y se

t or p

aper

, stic

kers

, dry

er

ase/

chal

k bo

ard,

dry

era

se m

arke

rs/c

halk

, an

d a

poin

ter f

or a

teac

her

§Pl

ay m

oney

and

che

cks

As a

cus

tom

er, y

ou m

ight

: §C

heck

the

pric

es o

f ite

ms,

look

at l

abel

s, a

nd

ask

ques

tions

abo

ut th

e fo

ods

§Te

ll th

e ca

shie

r you

wer

e ch

arge

d to

o m

uch

§N

ot h

ave

enou

gh c

ash;

then

figu

re o

ut w

hat t

o do

(writ

e a

chec

k, u

se a

deb

it ca

rd, o

r pic

k on

ly

the

item

s you

can

pay

for w

ith th

e ca

sh yo

u ha

ve)

§Pa

y w

ith c

ash

and

need

cha

nge

As a

cas

hier

, you

mig

ht:

§Ri

ng u

p cu

stom

ers

§Pr

ovid

e ch

ange

to c

usto

mer

s §H

ave

a br

oken

cre

dit c

ard

mac

hine

or n

ot h

ave

enou

gh c

hang

e

Prop

s you

mig

ht u

se:

§Pl

ay o

r rea

l foo

d ite

ms

§Pl

ay m

oney

; pre

tend

or n

onus

able

che

cks,

gift

ca

rds,

and

cre

dit c

ards

§A

play

regi

ster

, mon

ey b

ox, o

r cal

cula

tor

§A

smal

l car

t or b

aske

t (fo

r gro

cery

shop

ping

)

As a

ban

k cu

stom

er, y

ou m

ight

: §O

pen

a ch

ecki

ng o

r sav

ings

acc

ount

§D

epos

it ca

sh o

r a c

heck

—som

e in

sav

ings

and

so

me

in c

heck

ing

§W

ithdr

aw c

ash

from

a c

heck

ing

acco

unt

§A

sk fo

r inf

orm

atio

n ab

out d

ebit

and

cred

it ca

rds

§A

sk fo

r you

r acc

ount

bal

ance

§A

sk fo

r mon

ey (a

loan

) to

buy

a ca

r or a

hou

se

As a

ban

k te

ller,

you

mig

ht:

§H

elp

cust

omer

s ope

n an

acc

ount

§D

epos

it cu

stom

ers’

cash

or c

heck

s §G

ive

them

cas

h, d

ebit

card

s, or

cre

dit c

ards

§Te

ll cu

stom

ers t

heir

acco

unt b

alan

ces;

som

e m

ight

be

high

and

som

e m

ight

be

low

whe

re

they

nee

d to

dep

osit

mor

e m

oney

so th

ey d

on’t

get c

harg

ed a

low

bal

ance

fee

§Le

nd o

r not

lend

cus

tom

ers m

oney

for a

car

or

a ho

use

base

d on

thei

r fina

ncia

l situ

atio

n

Prop

s you

mig

ht u

se:

§Pl

ay m

oney

§Pr

eten

d or

non

-usa

ble

chec

ks a

nd c

redi

t car

ds §W

ithdr

awal

and

dep

osit

slips

§A

play

regi

ster

or m

oney

box

§A

calc

ulat

or

Pret

end

play

scen

ario

s

Pretend playCut out these coins and bills to use in pretend transactions.