In today's money-orientated world, many parents consider it important to teach their children how to be financially aware and responsible.
Too many young adults get into financial difficulties, so the sooner children understand the basics the better. They are generally curious about money from an early age, so it's a good idea to take advantage of this natural tendency.
The teaching can start when they are relatively young with the concept of earning and spending money. The basics of mummy and daddy working to earn money that pays for their home, food, toys and schooling can be explained as they simply need to understand the connection.
It's a good idea to get them used to different coins and notes once they can read numbers, and it helps with mathematics, too. Children like to copy their parents, so encouraging them to understand prices and values should be relatively easy. Take them shopping with you and encourage them to compare prices for different brands of the same item. It's an unusual child who doesn't like sweets and most will soon become interested in working out which offers the best value for the dirhams in their pocket.
It can become a game, especially when related to things they like. Gradually, what seems to be a game becomes an important lesson.
When using credit cards, parents should explain that these transactions represent real money, and they are not a magic way of spending without consequences.
Most parents give their children pocket money, but it is important that it be valued, rather than taken for granted; a reward, not an expectation. Even from around age four, pocket money can be paid as a reward for simple tasks, such as putting away toys or helping with housework.
Give your child their own money box and praise them for putting money aside to pay for treats. They can then save up to buy things that they want, with the theory being that the effort involved will endow the item bought with more value. Praise for their efforts is essential and this soon becomes a habit. As the child gets older it is normal for amounts of pocket money to increase, but so can the chores required.
Children do not generally take a long-term view on life, and actual investing - that is, into equity markets, stocks, bonds, shares and the like - is too difficult a concept to grasp, particularly the angle of risking capital.
What does make sense, however, is opening a bank account in the child's name. Few banks in the UAE offer specific children's accounts ,and they may be missing a trick here. Others will allow accounts to be opened for the children of existing account holders, which means that it is nominally in their name, but requires the assistance of the parent for any transactions. Nevertheless, the child can monitor account balances and make transactions just like an adult.
Hopefully there will be more deposits than withdrawals, and these will develop into a good long-term habit.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)
Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills