Are we creating a generation of young people who have unsustainable spending habits? We know that young adults can have exceptional levels of credit card debt. How can you, as parents, help teach your child Financial Literacy?

Financial Literacy can be taught from a very early age and can come in many forms.  Darien Library is here to help you, help your kids. Use your Library card as a training ground for teaching credit.  We've put together a series of programs that explore fiscal responsibility for kids, teens and parents this fall. Come and join us September to December 2010.

For further reading, see our resource list of Library materials tagged with "kids and money."

The Programs:

For Parents - kids + money

For Parents and Teens - Paying for College and the Teen Debt Crisis

For Children - Counting Coins

For Parents - Family, Money and Habits - Nathan Dungan, author*

For Teens & Children - Tweens vs. Teens Monopoly Showdown

*Mr.Dungan's appearance at Darien Library is made possible by Grammery Advisors, YWCA Parent Awareness and Darien Library.

kids + money - Film screening and discussion

September 16th 7 PM - Community Room

What do teens really think about money? In this documentary, filmmaker Lauren Greenfield goes straight to the source and asks them. After the film, join us for a discussion about how money can play an influential role in their development (with Lauren Pote of Child Guidance, Darien).

*Special Sessions added November 4th 10:30 AM & 7:00 PM

After the 7 PM screening of the film, please join us for a discussion about how money can play an influential role in their development, with Larry Rosenberg, Ph. D of Child Guidance Center of Southern CT.

Paying for College and the Teen Debt Crisis

October 14th 7 PM - Conference Room

This program is for parents and teens. Jill Russo Foster, author of “Cash, Credit, and Your Finances: The Teen Years,” will cover the two biggest sources of teen debt: college tuition and credit cards. You'll learn about different funding options such as: student loans, FAFSA, financial aid, work study programs, and more. Jill will help you teach your teens financial management so they'll be ready for life at college and beyond.

Counting Coins

October 19th 4:15 PM & December 8th  4:15 PM - Children’s Program Room

It’s 1880 and here comes the Wells Fargo horse-drawn wagon! Using interactive activities based on the historical experiences of the great American Express trade, this program introduces kids to money and finance - how to distinguish between needs and wants and how to build savings.
For children ages 5-8; sign up by calling or emailing the Children’s Library (203) 669-5235 childrenslibrary@darienlibrary.org
This program is made possible by Wachovia Bank, Darien Branch

Family, Money and Habits - Nathan Dungan

November 10th 7 PM - Community Room

In this highly interactive presentation, participants will:
• Discover new ways to talk and think about money among family members and between generations
• Develop a financial decision-making process that honors each person’s values
• Set clear financial goals that include saving and sharing
• Receive take-home tools to use with other family members, peers, etc.

Nathan Dungan is the founder and president of Share Save Spend®. For over 20 years, he has been an industry thought-leader on helping youth and adults link their money decisions to their values. He is the author of Prodigal Sons & Material Daughters; how not to be your child's ATM and his new book Money Sanity Solutions; linking money and meaning comes out this fall.

*Mr.Dungan's appearance at Darien Library is made possible by Grammery Advisors, YWCA Parent Awareness and Darien Library. Darien Library and YWCA Parent Awareness are members of Thriving Youth: Connected  Community.

Teens vs. Tweens Monopoly Showdown

November 13th 2 PM - Conference Room

Will you rule Park Place or build an empire on Atlantic Avenue? Show off your financial wizardry in our first-ever Tweens (kids ages 10-12) vs. Teens (12 and up) Monopoly Showdown! No sign up necessary. Just drop-in!

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).

Photos courtesy of Flickr Users - Ken Wilcox (clear piggy bank), All In Green (pink piggy bank), mtsofan (Monopoly pieces)