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Parents should instill in their children at an early age that they must earn what they receive. Even if parents give things to their children the children should be taught the price of those things. The price is not in money purse but the price they have paid e.g. working long hours away from the family. 

Both parents and children must give each other the gift of financial independence. Parents teach children values and children recognize how important it is that their parents remain self-sufficient.  Others agree with the premise of this article. If you teach your children to become self-sufficient at an early age, you are likely to see that they will start offering to pay for your lunch.

My parents were in their 20s when the kids were born

My parents had their children in their 20s well before they reached their peak earning age.  As kids, we learned that if we wanted money, we had to work for it. As soon as we were old enough, we started doing chores around the house. Later as we got older we picked up part-time jobs mowing lawns etc. 

All of us were out of the house in our early 20s. Yes, our parents would occasionally loan some money, small amounts. We all paid them back even when they told us not to. We paid them back because it was the right thing to do. We raised our families and our parents improved their financial situation as they earned more and were not supporting kids.

Understanding that with people having children later in life, the concept of saving for retirement has taken a turn. It's difficult to buy sports equipment and pay for youth organizations at the same time as you are saving for retirement. Many will have children in high school into their early 60s. 

The best gift kids can give to their parents

It's even more important that older people with school-age children teach their children the value of independence. Independence when it comes to how to manage their finances. They need to learn how to do things for themselves. It's a very hard thing for some parents but necessary. Frankly, it's an expression of love to push them in the right direction. 

A note of explanation. This article is not intended to discourage parents who have special needs children from doing what they believe is necessary to take care of them. Even in this case, what happens when you are gone. If your children need help as an adult because of some medical condition, your work to plan for retirement has become even more critical.

There are only two ways to prepare for retirement. Earn more and save it or spend less. We encourage you to read our blog article on creating a budget for retirement, click here. There are many more articles on this site that you may want to read to help you prepare for retirement. 

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