Ohioans feel strongly about teaching their children the importance of a healthy financial future, according to a consumer survey conducted by the Ohio Credit Union League.

Seventy-one percent of respondents said it’s extremely important for parents to teach their children about finances, 21 percent said it’s very important, and eight percent said it’s important.  Not a single respondent felt teaching children about finances was unimportant.

According to the survey, 64 percent of respondents said they received most of their financial education through life experiences, 24 percent said they learned at home, and 12 percent said they were financially educated either at school or by a financial institution.

Eighty-four percent of American teens look to their parents to learn about money management, according to the Junior Achievement’s Teens and Personal Finance Survey, sponsored by The Allstate Foundation.  However, according to the study, many parents feel uncomfortable talking about money matters with their kids due to a level of discomfort with the subject or their own financial missteps.  Here are a few tips for teaching financial education to youth of all ages.

• Age 5-6 – Work on the basics like identifying the value of coins and bills.  Playing “store” is a fun way kids can practice purchasing different items for money.
• Ages 6-9 – Focus on identifying the difference between wants and needs.  Flash cards can help children visualize the concept.
• Elementary School – Build on the concept of decision-making, goals, and budgeting.
• Middle School – Cover basic money-management topics such as how to write checks, use a transaction register, and manage real-life expenses.
• High School – Teach personal finance topics such as managing a checking account, managing expenses with a budget, and credit versus debit transactions.

Teaching personal financial responsibility has always been part of the mission of credit union financial cooperatives.  And with free resources and tools from MoneyAndStuff.info and bizkids.com, the "money talk" is the easiest talk to have with kids.

Cardinal Credit Union’s commitment to integrated financial education continues with their college and high school branches.  They are proud to promote skills like smart spending, informed use of credit, and the benefits of regular saving and investing.

Cardinal Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative with student-run branches in Lake Catholic High School, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School, Lakeland Community College, and Hiram College. Cardinal membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Lake, Geauga, Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Portage, Summit, Mahoning, Trumbull or Columbiana counties.

Cardinal Credit Union: 1-877-900 MYCU (6928) or visit CardinalCU.com.