I’m a firm believer in teaching children financial smarts at an early age. Our son is just now learning how to count money and how to stay within his budget when he uses his spending money to shop for toys. It’s hard to teach him the concept of saving at this age because, like most children, he wants to buy toys every time we go to a store. He is slowly learning that if he has $5, it won’t buy that $10 toy and that he will have to save his money.
However, my son is also very generous. Just this morning he wanted to give half of his money that the tooth fairy left him to a friend to spend on snacks at the swimming pool. We also encourage him to tithe 10% of his money. Generosity is also an important character trait I hope he will always possess.
Earning, saving, giving, and spending money are all financial tools covered at Tykoon, a website to help your child learn to manage their money while they earn money and incentives for chores they complete. It’s easy to set a goal for your child, set up chores to earn those goals, and help them keep track of their savings, giving, and spending. You can also download a Tykoon app from the iTunes store to run on your or your child’s iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad.
ABOUT TYKOON
• Tykoon is a financial services platform for kids using real money and real experiences to help educate kids on how to earn, save, give and spend.
• Partners with parents to help teach kids the family’s values about money and instill a strong work ethic.
• Empowers kids to be confident and smart with money by teaching them what they need to know.
• Changes “I want!” arguments into “How do I earn?” conversations.
• Built by parents and kids for parents and kids.
• For kids of all ages and is especially recommended for ages 8‐12.
FEATURES
• Chore Charts: Parents set up activities on chore charts so kids know exactly what they need to do to earn their allowance each week.
• Allowance Tracking: Tykoon tracks how much allowance kids get each week but only with parental approval, making sure kids are doing what they need to do to earn it.
• Non‐monetary Rewards: Money isn’t the only thing kids want. Tykoon rewards also include minutes for TV, Internet, gaming and staying up past bedtime.
• Goal Setting: Kids and parents work together to set the right financial goals like regularly saving money, saving up for wishlist items and donating to good causes.
• Wishlists: Kids choose items from the Tykoon Store to add to their wishlists. Wishlists can be used to list things kids are saving up to buy, as well as to help extended family members know what the kids want most for the holidays, birthdays and other special occasions.
• Giving: Giving back is important so Tykoon supports many charitable organizations and works with Network for Good to process verified 501(c)3 charity donations through the Tykoon platform.
• Parent Dashboard: Enables parents to set parameters, oversee their child’s activity, assign household chores and approve all transactions before a child makes a purchase.
• Parental Controls: Over 25 parental control and privacy settings that parents can set based on personal preferences.
• Kid Dashboard: Kids can track how much they have saved, set goals and shop online in a kid‐safe, secure Amazon‐powered store that only lets them access what parents let them access.
• Safe & Secure: Certified by kidSAFE® Seal Program and 100% COPPA compliant.
• Tykoon Store: Enables kid‐safe, secure online shopping. Parents can control what products kids can see
and the store requires parental approval and participation for every purchase.
• Tykoon Spotted iPhone App: Kids can use the app to snap pictures of what they want and add it to their wish list; parents have easy access to the app for efficient approvals and chore chart updates.
SPECIAL “5 Friends” OFFER:
If you sign up for Tykoon and get 5 friends to sign up and they use the site for a month, you will receive a $25 Amazon gift card!
OUR THOUGHTS:
My son really liked this website and enjoyed looking through the possible ways to donate to causes and the items he could spend his money on if he completed his chores. The video game category was a big hit! I think it has really motivated him to help out, as well as show him that a job well done will be rewarded. I personally found the website easy to use and I think the conversations we are having about being money-wise are so important. I also like the fact that my son could also keep track of non-monetary rewards, such as extra TV time and extra game time. Sometimes, those rewards are more enticing at his age than money!
If you are looking for ways to teach your children about being financially savvy, I definitely think Tykoon is a great place to start those conversations and teachable moments.
I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Tykoon. I received a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.
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