Talk to your child about money.

My daughter is 11 years old this year, and she owns a "treasure"—as she calls her savings—with six zeros, quite a lot compared to her peers. This "treasure" was accumulated from many sources: her monthly allowance from her parents; academic achievement bonuses; royalties (she writes for children's and teenagers' newspapers); and New Year's lucky money...

My wife and I started teaching our children about money very early, around the age of 3-4, through games, role-playing, and shopping trips with their mother. When they turned 6, celebrating their first day of first grade, they were thrilled that their parents agreed to let them keep all their money from the aforementioned sources and use it however they wanted – as long as they honestly reported their income and clearly explained their spending to their parents. We also made it clear to them that this reporting would end when they turned 18. At that point, we hoped they would be completely financially independent, in the sense of being proactive in both earning and spending.

When we casually shared this story with family and friends, my wife and I encountered quite a few conflicting opinions, even criticism. Most people thought we were being pretentious, formalistic parents, trying to raise our child in a "Western" style, and that this would only spoil our child instead of helping them. Comments included: "Who gives money to a child?"; "They're so young, what do they know? Why give them money to keep?"; "Be careful, your child might fall victim to scammers at school and get robbed of everything"; "Having money spoils them, they'll spend it all on frivolous things and online games..."

Looking back, the advice we received was partly right, but that common concern wasn't a standard my wife and I felt we absolutely had to follow. From our personal perspective, we believe it's never too early to teach children about money. Understanding the true value of money and learning how to spend it is just as important as learning how to save and earn it. This should definitely be a mandatory and necessary course for every child.

Most of us are obsessed with money. Money has a magical power; even the most indifferent person will perk up at the mention of it. That's why there's a folk saying, simply put: What can't be bought with money can be bought with a lot of money! It sounds crude, but it's true. Money is intertwined with the very fabric of human existence, the source of much of the joy, sorrow, happiness, and suffering. People are honored or disgraced by money; they are respected or despised by others because of money. Money is inanimate but possesses unparalleled power. Money is like a god, but it's also like a treacherous instrument. Money is valuable, but it's also dangerous. Adults know this well, so why don't they teach children early on to understand and cultivate a proper understanding of money? If we don't know how to control money, money will control us.

My wife and I teach our children that money is a means, not an end. Many people spend their whole lives struggling and suffering because they confuse these two things. Money is used to build houses but not to create a warm family home; money is used to buy comfortable furniture but not to buy peace of mind and contentment; money is used to fill refrigerators with delicious food but not to buy the happiness of a warm, family meal; money is used to buy positions of power, even to escape prison, but ultimately it cannot buy forgiveness from the court of conscience or karma…

When teaching children about money, the first lesson should be about spending wisely, delaying immediate gratification. Spending money is both easy and difficult. A child might walk into a store, see a teddy bear, and want to buy it immediately; but parents should teach them to slow down, think carefully about how many teddy bears they already have at home, and what differences there are between this one and the others in terms of design, color, material, size, etc. If there are differences, is it worth buying another one? If not, is it worth buying another one? This pause for reflection gradually instills in the child the habit of considering spending money on truly necessary things, avoiding waste. Once the child knows how to spend money well, parents can then guide them towards effective ways to save money. My wife and I believe that when a child understands money correctly, knows how to spend it, and knows how to save it well, the final lesson—earning money—maybe doesn't even need to be taught anymore because they will learn it naturally.

These days, talking to children about money has become increasingly relevant due to a series of shocking incidents: a nanny kidnapping and murdering a 2-year-old child for ransom; a suspect killing and dismembering a 17-year-old beauty queen over a 50 million VND debt; a man stabbing someone to death over money at a drinking party; and numerous actors and models... disregarding ethical considerations and falsely advertising dietary supplements for money... It's terrifying! Money, if placed in the role of a servant, will be a good servant; but if elevated to the role of a master, it will be a bad master. Therefore, talking to children about money is never too early, because if you don't teach them now, someone else will replace you later, such as creditors, the police, or even scammers. And the price then will be too high…