Do you know how young children seem to develop very focalized areas of interest??
Astronomy…..Presidents….dinosaurs…..animals…..whatever it might be. They want to check out books from the library, and ask you thousands of questions….. on that ONE subject. It forces you to have to GOOGLE things like “what are rainbows made of?” or “why is the sky blue?” You know what I’m saying….right??
Child Development Professionals encourage us to foster these topical pursuits in children ages 4-8 as they reflect natural areas of interest. It’s also been speculated that these focused areas of interest might offer insights as to your child’s future profession.
At the close of his first grade year, the Boy had a brief lesson block on the topic of money. The emphasis was on the monetized values of the individual coins themselves rather than on the economics of money.
For whatever reason, the subject really clicked for the Boy. We had spent the summer addressing topics like credit, bartering, savings, and budgeting. My favorite conversation on the subject went like this:
The Boy: How much does college cost?
Hubs: Like….$250,000.00
The Boy: What?!?! That is a lot of money.
Hubs: How do you think we are going to pay for that??
The Boy: Oh, I know….with credit!
Hubs: {attempting to not laugh while maintaining a serious expression} And what is credit?
The Boy: It’s a promise.
Hubs: That’s right. But a promise to do what?
The Boy: A promise to pay something back.
Hubs: True but it’s a promise to pay something back…..and to payextra.
The Boy: Hmmm {pausing to think} like that time when I took my sisters quarter, and you made me pay her back two quarters?
Hubs: Yes, exactly.
The Boy: Well I can tell you, I did not like that.
Hubs: Do you think every one is good at keeping promises?
The Boy: Oh I know they are not. I had a boy promise me that if I gave him three Pokemon cards he would not tell the bus driver I was standing up. Guess what he took the cards and he told him anyway! I was very upset.
Hubs: Well, what does that mean for people getting credit?
The Boy: It means that not everything or every person is a good investment…..and that trust is something you earn.
Hubs: Son, I think you could have a promising career in finance.
And so for much of the summer our conversations continued along the same vein. He wanted to know what people did for their jobs, and how much they made. He wanted to know how much everything cost. He wanted to talk about ways he could earn money.
I think you get the idea.
Then one day as we were bidding farewell to a friend, who had invited us over to swim at her lovely home, to my mortification, the Boy casually threw over his shoulder as we were walking out the door, “So…how much would a house like this cost me??”
Inside voice: {Really, son?}
My friend gave him a gracious reply, that likely would have appeased the majority of six year olds. I apologetically explained that he was on a big money kick right now, and she nodded understandably.
Once we piled into our van, the Boy proclaimed, “I’m really going to have to start saving my money if I want a pool at my house one day.”
I just shook my head.
Before this summer, the Boy never had found a subject that fascinated him…until he encountered economics. Other than a dark period where he was sucked into the seedy underworld of Pokemon trading cards of course.
I had actually begun to wonder if the Boy would simply remain passionless….that is…..until the summer of 2015….when it occurred to me that this kid most likely has a future career in finance, and that I could be rearing the next Warren Buffet.
Author’s Note: Let me tell you a little social media secret; Facebook doesn’t put every story I post into your news feed. The only way to never miss one of my stories is to add your email to my Motherhood in Technicolor distribution list. Its easy and how many things are really easy….just click on this link, and then enter your name and email on the page. Done. The next time I post a story to my blog page a copy of the story will be sent to your email. There’s also a 83% chance that seeing an email from me in your inbox will totally be a day brightener…..so what are you waiting for? 🙂
Summer Smith is a speaker, writer, and motherhood blogger. She and her family are currently navigating the suburbs of Northern Virginia. As the mother to four young children, Summer maintains her sanity thanks to her sense of humor, copious amounts of coffee, and Amazon Prime. Maya Angelou once said, when reflecting on her childhood, that her mother left an impression like technicolor stars in the midnight sky. Influenced by these words, Summer blogs at her website Motherhood in Technicolor, and can also be found on her Motherhood in Technicolor Facebook page.