20 worthless pieces of junk: #5 -- The piggy bank
Filed under: Banks, Budgets, Family Money
Not all piggy banks are bad, but the old-fashioned kind with one slot for putting in coins have had their day. "Think about it – what does a one-slot piggy bank ask a child to do? Save? I don't think so," says Susan Beacham, founder and CEO of Money Savvy Generation, a company set up to teach financial education to children. "Nowhere on a one-slot bank is the word 'save'. Ah, you say, it is implied. Really? Ask a child the next time he or she places a newly acquired coin in the slot why they are making that deposit. Get ready for a blank stare."Give a kid a one-slot piggy bank and they may actually save when you ask, but Beacham's theory is that they aren't actually aware of what they are doing when they are putting money into that slot. And they have no concept why they are doing it or what they are saving for. The money goes in the slot and you get a blank stare.
"Truth is, most kids don't have the slightest idea of what they are doing when they are placing coins in the one-slot of a traditional piggy bank," says Beacham. "Money is generally too abstract a concept for most kids. To help kids learn about money, you have to make the abstract concrete. And while a one-slot piggy bank is a good start – it is just not enough to really teach a child about the choices they have for money."
She continues, "Kids need to be reminded that there is more to do with money than just spend. Literally reminded each and every time they have money that they can save some, spend some, donate some and invest some. For that, you need a whole new kind of piggy bank."
So what should you get kids to better teach them to prioritize their spending and saving? One suggestion is the Money Savvy Pig, a four-chambered piggy-bank with four slots and four tummies each labeled with a choice the child has for money, reminds a child, in a very concrete way, that there is more to do with money than just "spend".
"So, move over traditional icon, your one-slot option is so yesterday," says Beacham.
Susan Beacham is the chief executive and founder of Money Savvy Generation, a financial education company that provides innovative products and services to help parents and educators teach children the basic skills of personal finance, MoneySavvyGeneration.com. See her blog at www.susanbeacham.com
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-09-2009 @ 8:19AM
cliff corson said...
piggy banks may seem to be an abstract concept for some kids to use but there are lots of kids that do understand about using them to save money for a future date
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7-09-2009 @ 10:39AM
burt reynolds said...
you people really have one lodged up your butt. do your kids even know what a coin is or are debit cards all they know? some people out there actually know the value of a dollar and the effort needed to earn one.
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7-09-2009 @ 12:09PM
L. Rope said...
Single slot piggy banks? Perfect! A very young child of two or three hasn't any value conception. For that matter, I'm not sure some adults have the concept, who use the plastic Mr. Reynolds speaks about. It is my experience, with the correct tutelage, the piggy bank can make a world of difference in the future spending habits of any child. The piggy bank has served to segue into the important things such as giving, saving, investing, and finally spending through visual attempts at appreciation, e.g., shiny coins, pretty coins of different size and weight, in so doing appealing to the childs senses. What could do a better job of this than grandparents, parents, the toothfairy, or other significant individuals and the piggy bank. The financial foundation has to be started early, of some allure to a small child in order to build a foundation of respect, appreciation and understanding of how this money thing works. Well, the piggy bank plus someone to offer loving good, real, functioning direction to commect the dots at every step makes for a savvy, financially sound individual. Ms Beacham, while I am sure the intensions are good, needs to leave her ivory tower of financial platitudes and understand if the the allure bug doesn't bite at a early, young age, the battle is not only lost but the war is too. In others words, it becomes real when the younger child is involved directly on a scale which they can comperhend. It is up to the parents to connect the dots in helping the youngest child understand exactly what they are doing (combating those blank stares) then take that child to the next level with a multi slot piggy possibly, all on the foundation built with the single slot, traditional piggy bank.
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7-10-2009 @ 4:50PM
Rod said...
I agree that a piggy bank for a small child is nonsense. But by the time a child reaches school age and is "cognitive" of such things, the idea of saving for a stated objective is a necessary lesson. Why, my wife has a jar labeled "greens fees" and anything she finds in my pockets eventually gets used on the golf course. Another example? Back in the 40's, my grandfather told my grandmother to "round up" in the checkbook and at the end of the month transfer the difference to a savings account. In about 1951, she showed up at the house in her shiny new car! Single slot piggy banks? We need more, not less!
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7-09-2009 @ 2:58PM
lita said...
Wow. Susan Beacham is one money "expert" I'd stay away from. Why she gets her knickers in a knot over a child dropping coins into one of these is beyond me. When that piggy bank is full, it is a great parent-child teaching moment--sorting the coins, then wrapping the coins and taking them to the bank to put into a savings account. Or splitting the money--a portion for savings (not to be touched), a portion for charity, a portion just for him or her to do with what he/she pleases.... Susan should get a grip and invest her time in something that really matters, like the current state of the economy and how to best help those silly enough to follow her after reading what she has to say here....
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7-10-2009 @ 6:22PM
tylor said...
Your children must be rather stupid...
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7-13-2009 @ 7:46AM
DJ Davis said...
You missed again. One-slots are a piece of our nostalgia and history. They are memory evokers, paper weights, coin claches for the emergency caffeine fix, donation repositories, conversation starters, and a fun and easy way to imprint the concept of saving on young children. While you are trashing the one-slots, slip your credit cards through your shredders, too. If you think a child doesn't understand the one-slot piggy bank, then the concept of paying with invisible money is way beyond their comprehension. Try again guys, and send me your one-slot piggy banks.
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7-13-2009 @ 1:30PM
Rei said...
What should we be saying goodbye to? Dangerous piggy banks with no stopper that you have to smash to get your money out of. Keep one slot piggy banks! You don't need four slots, just have the kids divide their money as they see fit when the piggy bank is full!
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7-13-2009 @ 5:17PM
bri said...
sure sounds like marketing spin from someone trying to sell a "new" "modern" or "updated" piggy bank.
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7-16-2009 @ 1:06PM
pigpen said...
I couldn't disagree more. I give all newborns a piggyback (and a real Tonka truck) when they're born. At first, family & friends added the coins. My 21-month old niece has been adding to it since she was 11-months old, emulating what she saw others do. She NEVER puts money in her mouth. She curls her hand around any coins she's given until she can get home and "feed the piggy." When she's done, she kisses the piggy and points to the shelf where it's supposed to sit until next time. She and her Mommy and Daddy take the piggy to the bank when it's full, along with her passbook. She may not know what all that means at this point, but she'll know soon enough -- and, better yet, a habit will have already been ingrained in her to save. We now have additional piggy banks at both maternal & paternal grandparents' homes. Coins are kept in a separate storage until she visits and can put them in herself. She doesn't need fancy toys. She loves to "feed the piggy," as can be evidenced by her $2000+ savings account from coins alone. As far as I'm concerned, it's a great way to teach a kid to save. The explanations can come later. It's never to early to start good habits. This one happens to be fun, too.
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7-20-2009 @ 11:24AM
Piggysaver said...
That writer is a dork. Nothing wrong with Piggybanks. Maybe mom and dad just need to teach the little ones all about the money that goes into the piggybank and what to do with it when piggy is full. I had a bank and I understood that when it was full there was a decision to be made about the contents. I also knew that when I was putting the coins in that eventually some of it would be used for spending on a vacation.
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7-20-2009 @ 12:21PM
Ahmie said...
I agree with the person who says this is clearly a marketing ploy, given the single "expert" viewpoint is from someone who has designed a product to fill this artificially created "need". We have several single-slot banks in our house, and our 5yr old and 2yr old LOVE putting coins in them. They're not all pigs - we have a Moncchichi one that was bought for our firstborn (born inthe year of the Monkey) for his personal use, a house-shaped one for saving for things that are for the whole family, a Lego one for saving for Lego sets, a pig for the little one (born in the year of the pig), one just for pennies, and a cardboard one that is from our church for donations to charity. The kids love putting money in the different ones. If people really want to have kids separate out their money as they're "banking" it, I would recommend getting different single-slot banks that somehow visually convey the idea of what the money is for instead of this piece of junk recommended (more like advertised) here, so that you can get the kids into the habit before they can READ the words on this piece of trash!
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