Text Size 
Myth Number Two: A job with a good corporation will secure your child's financial future.
This was once true. Many of today's grandparents grew up with secure, long-term jobs at American corporations and factories and retired with gold watches and nice pensions. But as many people are finally beginning to realize, this is no longer the case.
Big corporate America is now a world of mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, and outsourcing. And for those who survive these upheavals and remain employed, the corporate workplace itself is often unfriendly and difficult, as employees struggle to do more with fewer resources, deal with cutthroat office politics, and work longer hours to produce a product of which they may or may not be proud. Further, all the while they are filling someone else's bank account.
Is this what you want for your child? Not likely. But while many parents now acknowledge that corporate America might not be the place for their sons and daughters, they don't know any alternatives. As a result, they stand silently by while their children march toward eventual financial disappointment.
One alternative is small businesses, often service oriented, which are the driving force of our economy. The approximately 23.7 million small businesses in the United States have generated 60 to 80 percent of the new jobs in this country over the last decade and employ half the country's private (nongovernment) workforce, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
And who's starting these businesses? They are entrepreneurs who have the skills, confidence, and determination to create something new and make it pay. Contrary to what many people think, these entrepreneurs did not spring fully formed into their success. Most often they were children, just like yours, who were taught by their parents, early in their lives, to identify their talents, trust their instincts, and use both to create unique, profitable businesses.
Your child will be no different, and maybe will be even more successful than other entrepreneurs, if you start now to teach him how to learn to earn. Give him the option to be his own boss when he grows up! He will thank you forever.
Myth Number Three: Children should not have to "worry" about money when they're young. There's plenty of time to focus on finances when they're adults.
This line of thinking drives me crazy because, first, it assumes that money is scary, which is exactly what too many adults think and why they're so uncomfortable with their finances. On the contrary, I can assure you that teaching your child that she is capable of earning her own money is one of the most positive and empowering gifts you can give her. By helping her earn and handle money now, she won't ever have to "worry" about making money when she's an adult.
Second, this hands-off approach to money flies in the face of what parents do for their children in all other areas of their kids' lives. You encourage your children to take piano or dance lessons and play soccer or baseball when they are young to gain skills that they will enjoy and carry into adulthood. Why not give them the same opportunity to acquire financial skills that will pave the way to an affluent and secure future?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes