‘Back in the day’ ‘Junior Achievement’ was an absolutely ingenious idea. Not sure if it is still practiced and if it is, what it is called. It is still an ingenious idea whether practiced in public schools or from your own home as a way to engage with your children and give them a head-start.
Usually it was offered to kids that had enough credits to graduate high school but for some reason wanted to wait with their class to graduate. However, you could still earn credits for your participation as well. Instead of an approximately one-hour class, you would form groups to set up and develop a business with – corporate officers and all!
It was so much fun and so educational! At the end you got your credits and a grade on your report card just like any other class. There is every reason to recognize the value of a program like this because of the experience and skills that the child will gain.
So now looking at this through different lenses you may be able to tell how this could work so nicely as a project you can do with your kids to teach them business skills and even interpersonal communications or professional social relationships.
Here is another reason. You may work all day away from home out of necessity and your child may not really grasp anything except you are never there. If you are home you are busy with housework, etc. Little ‘one-on-one’ time for the kids in any case, unless you make a conscious effort.
When they are really little they have their own little world, but as they mature, naturally they will become curious and interested in a wider range of options. So feed that! In this day and age they probably already know something about how to use a computer and the Internet.
Why not suggest you start a business together and be honest that it would be a way for you to spend more ‘quality time’? Be sure to include them in every aspect from the bottom up – for example finding what kind of an online business they would appreciate, and researching the possibilities.
Maybe you could commit to an hour on the weekend at the least to work on your project together.If you are sincere and able to engage with your child it is almost guaranteed that they will come out way ahead on their business skill set as well as they may be able to earn and save a little money.
