Kids are learning the ABC of finance, and mastering it too

Financially aware children are learning the value of long-term needs over instant gratification

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At family gatherings, it's not just adults talking money anymore. Take the case of Inaya, 11, who warned her uncle to “escape the inflation villain,” or Anika, 9, urging her father to share the performance of her stock portfolio. An ever increasing number of children, from living rooms to classrooms, are not just counting numbers—but also returns.

India's 9-to-14-year-olds are picking up the ABCs of money—and putting them into practice. Beyond math and science, schools now teach topics like needs versus wants, interest, inflation, budgeting and investment options as part of the CBSE’s financial literacy curriculum from Class VI onwards.

Edtech firms such as BrightChamps, BeyondSkool and Finstart are joining in, turning money lessons into games and courses. Financial Olympiads, too, nudge children to think about saving, spending and investing. This Children’s Day, Mint explores how young Indians are learning to manage money—and influences shaping their financial habits and thinking.

Why start early?

The relationship with money begins early, says Chitra Sharma, whose son attends financial literacy classes. “It should start in childhood, before you see money as something just to spend. Financial responsibility is understanding that money is conversion of effort.” So much so, for his 10th birthday, her son Kian skipped a grand party for an iPad—“something that lasts longer.”