Whether your children are going to attend a community college or an big name University, we are giving our kids lots of ‘school subject’ smarts but not ‘real world, improve my life on all levels’ smarts. The sad thing is, everyone needs a money non dual teachers but as you can see from recent news headlines, very few have received practical financial knowledge when they were younger. Most people today still learn about money the hard way – instead of getting the money education they need to avoid those mistakes.

Teaching financial literacy to young adults before they leave home is an important part of preparing our children for the complex financial system that we now have. Repetition of the ‘money education’ lessons they pick up at home or in school will help your kids get a better grasp of youth financial education lessons that will make a tru difference in their life.

Before choosing a youth financial education or a money education course for your children make sure to select the one that will provide them practical guidance.

– Meets National Financial Literacy Curriculum Standards. Although some of the standards may not be considered ‘practical’ it will narrow down the potential providers of a youth financial education product for your child.

When reviewing the course ask yourself ‘Does this youth financial education course deliver its content in a fun, entertaining way?’ If it meets most of the National Financial Literacy Curriculum standards and focuses on delivering practical information in an entertaining way – this may be the course for you.

– Matches your children’s learning styles. Since extensive research shows we all have different learning styles find one that best fits your child’s learning style.

If they are auditory learners you may want give them a money education course that offers audio recordings or that take place in a classroom setting. If they are more hands on type learners than find a youth financial education course that has a lot of activities. Leveraging their learning style helps to lock in the know-how and provides and experience all learners can enjoy.

Greater depth, understanding and reinforcement. By combining media, quick notes, interactive tools, videos, guides and more – students can use whatever works best for their personal learning styles.

– Provides relevant, timely content. The financial world is changing faster than ever before. Be sure to choose a youth financial education course that stays up with today’s times.

If you review a money education course that shows you how to write a check – throw it away. That is way behind the times and we need to focus our money education on topics today’s youth will relate to and implement. On the other hand if you review a financial literacy course that focuses on helping your children to leverage technology to manage their finances – that will be a course you want to look into deeper.

Bottom line – we need to provide our children a practical youth financial education course before they head out into the real world. Be sure to give your children the advantage that many of us wish we had growing up.