A Family Financial Discussion with Children
The intention of this blog is to provide a game for a family with children that will enable them to discuss the values reflected in the way a family relates to the financial challenges in their family. To enhance the game like atmosphere, it might be helpful to have some celebratory food like pizza, popcorn, sodas or other appropriate drinks or any other food that would normally be experienced by the family as a fun time.
A LIST OF VALUES
In preparation for the game, a member of the family needs to prepare a set of three by five cards reflecting a set of both positive, negative, and ambiguous values that are frequently associated with money, wealth, and financial transactions in our society. They would probably include such values as greed, security, possessions, pride, honesty, selfishness, dishonesty, happiness, compassion, generosity, stinginess, poverty, wealth, comfort, fear, confidence, success, failure, etc. These and other values you can identify should be placed on the cards—one value on each card.
PLAYING THE GAME
Explain to everyone what values are on the cards and make sure everyone has a basic understanding of their definition. Place a bowl of wrapped candy in the middle of the circle of those participating. The cards are shuffled and placed before the group. As the play begins, imagine that you are speaking about an imaginary family who are making decisions about their finances.
The first person cuts the deck of cards and takes out a card from the middle of the deck. That person is asked to describe one family use of money that reflects that value. If the person next to them can describe how that same use of money can reflect an opposite value, that person gets to collect one piece of candy from the center dish. The card is placed back in the deck and it is shuffled. Then the next person draws a card and does the same. While the same value may come up more than once, the same family action cannot be used more than once.
YOUR FAMILY VALUES
At an agreed upon time, the parents are asked to make note of the five top values they wish the financial decisions of their family to reflect. The children are to work together to reach a consensus on what they think will be on their parent’s list of values. When they have reached a consensus, the two lists are shared and discussed.
An addition to this game might be to have the family discuss how they think the values they have chosen reflect their Christian faith as a family.
