Books for kids and random financial guidance for kids

[kfh227]

My son is in 4th grade.  He is an odd boy.  He has the entrepreneurial sprit.  Likes the idea of sports but actually seems to want to spend time learning about business and getting rich more than do sports.  I don't understand it fully.

 

So, I'd like this thread to be about how to teach kids financial literacy at a younger age.  And for kids like mine, how to teach them about business.

 

Anyway ....

 

I worry that he wants to get rich the wrong way though.  I keep telling him that if you run a business one day, you make sure that your employees have work to do at all times so they can feed their families.  You do this for people and the financial rewards will come to you.  The focus shouldn't be on getting rich.  It should be on keeping people employed.  I reiterate this all the time and hope it sticks.

 

Anyway, I spent a lot of time trying to find a first book for him and I think I found it.  He just started it.  Poor Charlies Almanac!  It's almost perfect because it is full of pictures.  Most of the text is larger font so each page goes quickly.  And it has some powerful anecdotal stories and information in the book.  So if some of that is sticky in his brain, I will be ecstatic.

 

As for future books, I was actually thinking about short autobiographies of important people in business history.  If anyone can think of shorter books that he could read, I'd appreciate it.  At his age though, it can not be math heavy.  Qualitative, not quantitative.

 

There is a serious shortage of books on finance for kids.  I get it though.  It's smaller than a small market.  Still, it makes me sad.

 

EDIT 1:

A thread that may help:

What are the best books on history (financial or otherwise?)

http://www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/general-discussion/what-are-the-best-books-on-history-(financial-or-otherwise)/

 

Not really about books for kids but still worth while.

 

[augustabound]

I was just thinking about this the other day while the financial guy for a Toronto radio station mentioned his daughter.

Those in Southern Ontario may be familiar with Lou Schizas as "the Happy Capitalist". I usually only partially listen since he believes in technical analysis.  ;D

 

It was interesting though, he pays his daughter for chores based on what the going rate he believes them to be worth.

Taking out the garbage may be worth $5 where emptying the dishwasher may only be worth $2 to him.

He also lends her money. If they're at the mall and she wants something and asks for money, he explains to her the $10 he lends her means she must pay him back $15 or $20 the next time she gets paid.

 

I guess he considers his daughter to be a high risk borrower..............

 

As for books, I'm still looking around. The only ones I've found are your typical personal finance garbage. You know, Latte Factor and all those catch phrase types that are designed to sell books rather than teach.

 

I still struggle with buying the One Share type of thing. I want them to understand what shares in businesses are but I'm stuck between giving them something rather than them earning something. (I hope that makes sense)