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October 29, 2010
Tools to Help Parents Teach
By Cindy Ivanac-Lillig
Many folks have made the argument that if parents modeled good financial behavior at home, we would not have such abysmal financial literacy and preparedness marks among our youth. On the other hand, the message from adult financial literacy circles is usually that modern financial products are ever-changing and difficult to evaluate. The two messages are somewhat disjointed.
Are good habits not being passed onto our children because we have forgotten how to model them or are we, as adults, somewhat unsure of what to do in the ever-changing marketplace?
Last night, the Council of Economic Education, the major professional organization for economic educators, awarded a 2010 Visionary Award to Arkadi Kuhlmann, founder of ING Direct. Mr. Kuhlmann and ING have created an award-winning kids-centered website, www.orangekids.com, to help parents teach their kids the basics of money management. Here is some of the praise the website has received:
Planet Orange has become a favorite among parents, teachers and children. Over the past several years, the site has been showcased by USA Today's Education "Best Bet," Forbes.com "Best of Web" award, and the Wall Street Journal as one of the "Best Educational Websites." (source: PR newswire):
The website features a "Planet Orange Parent Center" to help parents teach their children. The idea of creating tools for parents to teach their children is not a new one, but it is not terribly common. It seems like a good idea to me.
What do you all think?
Posted by Cindy at October 29, 2010 9:18 PM
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Comments
I was on the committee that highly recommended this project. Teaching economics and financial literacy is hard. Teachers need all of the help they can get so I think this is a great idea. The site is costless except for opportunity cost and available to fit anyone's schedule. I have found that there are hundreds of great teachers who are parents who can enrich the lives of their students. Thanks for posting this project.
Posted by: Mike Fladlien at October 30, 2010 11:18 AM
This looked like a great idea. Attempt to make it fun to learn a subject that must be tough to get a childs attention. Beats the way it used to be taught when I was young. It is upsetting to know that so many young people have no idea what a mutual fund or a unit trust or how a bond works. We don't start young enough. I started my child with the great tulip bubble, because it could be hands on and fun while showing how a market was created it grew out of control and eventually collapsed. Anyway it was fun, and she learned something. And now when she is 30, she noticed when a market was over priced,and understood how it got there, it worked. Thanks
Posted by: Keith W at November 15, 2010 4:03 AM
You made a few good points there. I did a search on the theme and found nearly all persons will consent with your blog.
Posted by: Zita Stastny at January 24, 2011 8:59 PM
Thanks so much for this! I havent been this moved by a blog post for quite some time! You’ve got it, whatever that means in blogging. Anyway, You are certainly someone that has something to say that people need to hear. Keep up the great work. Keep on inspiring the people!
Posted by: hang hieu at April 20, 2011 8:16 PM
Just thought i would comment and say neat design, did you code it yourself? Looks great.
Posted by: Craig Malchow at May 6, 2011 6:07 PM
Very nice entry. I have been browsing for a while and you have given me a lot of information.
Posted by: Gaylord Bapties at May 6, 2011 8:07 PM
Hi its been decent reading through your web page and simply just thought I would say thanks and wished I could write like that.
Posted by: Make Beats at September 25, 2011 9:10 AM
Thanks for sharing this with all of us.
Posted by: Stacy Suro at November 3, 2011 1:14 PM
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