Learning Money With Leo and RBC

I’m going to come to a conclusion when I say that learning money used to be easier for kids. Back when I was younger, everyone carried cash! My first money-education was knowing what I liked, and catching onto how much Mom always handed over for said item. A pop and chips, that meant the bill with $1 on it {how times have changed, right?}

These days most people, myself included, rarely use cash for purchases. My kids honestly think that this plastic {magic} card IS money. They think: Have the card and you can buy anything! Well, we all know that this alone doesn’t teach anything about money, they need an introduction to actual coins and bills in order to know the value.

So, If modern day present the issue of a ‘more often than not’ cashless society, let’s use our modern day advantages to fill in gaps, right? You got it – there’s an app for that!

Recall Leo the Lion and RBC? My first bank account when I was a kid with a paper route was a leo saving account. And, yes, my own 3 girls also have Leo accounts of their own too {with cute little account books}. Now, there’s the Learning Money with Leo app, free from the Royal Bank of Canada.

Intended for kids aged 6 year and younger, this app helps teach kids about money through fun games. It was put together with the input of early childhood education experts and parents, and is designed to:

  • Provide kids with an introduction to the concepts and value of money
  • Teach kids about earning, saving and spending money
  • Help kids develop a foundation of basic money skills that they can build upon in the years to come

Thoughts?

The twins love ‘Solve the Maze’, where you lead a certain coin to the same value at the end. As well, the spaceship game to collect coins is fun as well. There’s a great storybook {in the story, the two kids are twins!}, which tells a tale about the value of money when ‘wanting things’ and then instilling the importace of saving money as well. This is great since I’m pretty sure we have all faced our kids desperately wanting things but just not realizing that there’s a COST involved.

My oldest at 7 really loves this app too. She really benefited from the ‘Spot the differences’ game, which is just a tad too advanced for my 3yo toddlers. Plus, the ‘Match It’ was just right for her age too, since you have to match the written word to the picture word. Since my twins can’t read, this particular game on the app is too much for them right now, but my oldest loves it since she can practice her reading. So, my point is that even ages above 6 can benefit form this game, any kid that could use some money-education can benefit.

As well, up to 4 people can have their own ‘accounts’ on the app. So when they do challenges to collect ‘money’ for stickers, each person has their own ‘savings’ account.

And, since their mother keeps saying that her ‘magic-card’ isn’t something that can buy the world, this app is really helping to learn the value of money. Available in English and French, I urge you to give it a try. Aside from the free app, RBC also has more tips on teaching kids about money on their website.  

 

Disclosure: I received product to facilitate this review, all opinions are my own.

 

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785 Comments

  1. I think it is so important to teach our children about money because of the exact point you stated, they see us use our debit/credit cards and assume that it is a “magic” money card. They see us go to an ATM machine and “magically” get money too. They dont get many opportunities to see us use cash. My daughter has her own bank account and bank book. She is 8 years old, and she saves coins in her digital coin bank and i try to enforce the savings goal. It is tough and this app will help us parents teach some valuable money lessons.

    Reply

  5. It’s important to teach kids about money at an early age so that they understand the value of money. Hopefully they will be more responsible and spend their money wisely.

    Reply

  10. I think kids need to know about money so much earlier because the lastest generation seems to have such expectations that they should just HAVE stuff without working for it. I think it’s because we as a society have so much more disposible income that “stuff” is always there, to give, to get, etc.

    I downloaded this app and so far my daughter loves it. I hope the message gets through to her 🙂

    Reply

  14. They learn how to determine the difference between wants and needs. Saving for a rainy day or that special something can be a reward instead of a sacrifice.

    Reply

  22. I think it’s important to teach kids about money as it lays the foundation for future responsible money management. Teaching kids now about spending, saving and budgeting will take them a long way in the future.

    Reply

  31. I think its very important so kids grow up to be responsible adults that know how to take care of themselves and money and know how to save and not go into debt,

    ksceviour at hotmail dot com

    Reply

  38. It’s important to teach them at a young age so they can be more prepared to deal with it when they become adults.

    Reply

  43. I believe it’s important to learn your independance when you are young. Especially if you are a girl. I wanted my kids to know that they can rely on themselves. I wanted their relationships to be developed with independance. I started giving them an allowance when they were five. We then had then put part of it in a jar and once a month we would deposit it to their bank account and they got to watch how it grew!

    Reply

  51. It is important for children to know the value of money so hopefully they will not live on credit cards for everything. They must be taught that not only do you spend you must save also. This is a society of wants not necessarily needs.

    Reply

  59. Teaching my kid about money is important because I want him to be responsible with money when he grows up and understand the value of a dollar

    bluebelle0367(at)hotmail(dot)com

    Reply

  65. I am a financial advisor with one of the big banks, and I see the outcome of not learning about money all the time! If you give you children a good, solid, education about money – where it comes from, how to earn it (to learn the value in it), what to do with it – spending money, long term goals and short term goals. If you do this for your children now, they will do so much better in thier life financially!

    Reply

  69. You need to learn early that most money is earned and that a portion of it needs to be saved to have a secure financial adulthood.

    Reply

  71. I think its important to teach kids about money as they need to realize what things cost and how hard it is to earn that money

    Reply

  76. It’s so important for me to teach my son about money because I see adults not handling their money very well. It scares me that so many have debt. I want him to learn to be a saver.

    Reply

  80. It’s a lesson kids are going to use all of their life.
    Thanks for the giveaway 🙂

    Reply

  90. I think its important to teach kids about money so they will grow up to be responsible adults.

    Reply

  94. Teaching kids about money is important. So that they know how to spend it wisely and budget properly. It will help them now and later on.

    silverneon2000 at yahoo dot com

    Reply

  102. I think its important to teach them about money so they will grow up to be responsible, and learn not to waste their money on things they dont need!

    dalleykt at live dot ca

    Reply

  108. It’s important because it will provide them with a good foundation of money concept so that kids can understand money should be spend on things that they need rather than things that they want. Also, it will also prevent them from over-spending and incur in debt

    Reply

  115. Learning about money, to me, is one of the most important of Life Skills. I wasn’t taught at all about money and have, as a result, made some horrid financial decisions.

    Reply

  123. i think it is important to teach children to be responsible with money so they learn to save for what they want and not to go in debt as an adult
    thanks
    flower_child_23(at)hotmail(dot)com

    Reply

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  132. so they dont move back in with me when they are 30 lol , If they learn early how to handle money it gives them a chance at a great finincial future

    Reply

  163. I think the most important thing is they have to earn money it’s not just handed to them, they should learn how to save their birthday money and allowance for something special they want.

    Reply

  170. so that they will not have credit debts when they become adults.i dont want them to be asking people for money if they ran short.
    amramazon280 at yahoo dot com

    Reply

  183. It’s a cornerstone to maturing and learning how to grow up. I got my first credit card at 16 and never missed a payment yet. that’s 25 years later.

    Reply

  195. Economy is bad and the children has no value of money. I’ve my kids’ comment like it’s ONLY $300 dollars!! They asked for things but have no idea people has to worked the whole week for things that they think “ONLY”.

    Reply

  203. It’s so important to teach children the value of money early on so there aren’t devastating repercussions for them later in life. My parents bought me absolutely everything I asked for and never discussed with me how they were paying for it, I just assumed money was always there. In my teens, I spent every cent of my paycheque immediately after I got it because again, I assumed money would always be there. In my early 20s I racked up substantial credit card debt and spent the latter half of my 20s paying it off; all the while watching my friends advancing with their lives, buying their own houses, going on amazing trips. I learned a valuable lesson, but it was a hard way to learn it.

    Reply

  206. I’ve had a lot of debt at one point in my life and it adds a lot of unnecessary stress, I’d like to teach my daughter to be more responsible than I was and live within our means

    Reply

  217. Its important to teach kids about money and the responsibility of it all because, in my opinion, it is one of life’s most important life skills. I had no knowledge of money or anything associated with money and I know how important it is to teach our kids.

    Reply

  220. It’s important to teach your kids about money so they can hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls like credit card debt and living beyond your means

    Reply

  230. It’s important so they can have a better understanding for their future. I wasn’t taught it as a kid and I learned the hard way in my late teens (when I got a credit card).

    Reply

  240. It important to teach kids the value of money so they develop good saving and spending habits at an early age.

    Reply

  244. wow that is a wonderful idea.
    kids need to learn that money is earned, that we can not buy anything we may want at any given moment, that if we can learn to invest and live within our own means we would be so much happier with our lives 🙂 actually most adults need to learn this as well

    Reply

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  253. It is important to teach children the value of money so that they can make good financial choices as they get older and become independent and financially responsible adults.

    Reply

  259. I want my kids to understand so they can have an easier future. You have to work to make money, and save for things you want!

    Reply

  266. It’s a life skill. I hope that they are money savvy so that they can have everything they need.

    Reply

  282. I think it’s important because it makes them appreciate what they have more and hopefully sets them up for a lifetime of wise financial choices.

    Reply

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  326. I believe it is important to teach kids about money and how to save it early in life. Many of people today are in severe debt or declaring bankruptcy. If we can teach our children how to save and manage money at an early age, they may have a fighting chance

    Reply

  335. With our pension safety net eroding each year, it is vital we teach kids as young as possible the discipline of saving on a regular basis and the value of thrift.

    Reply

  342. Handling money is a learned skill. Teaching children young how to spend and save will hopefully prepare them for the future.

    Reply

  371. My son is almost 4 and he’s at that stage where he wants to buy every toy he sees. I want to make sure he grows up understanding the value of money and choice about what we buy.

    Reply

  378. They need to understand that you have to work hard for what you make. They can’t just buy everything they want because then they will not have money for the things they need. My son recently broke a window and we tried to explain that we would not be able to go to Chilis this month because we had to use that money to pay for the window.

    Reply

  442. It’s important to teach kids about money so they don’t think they can have everything with a bank card!

    Reply

  499. I think it is important to teach kids about money as it seems so many people have issues with money and things like payday loans, credit cards are so accessible. Plus it is more difficult to learn about money with the use of debit and credit.

    Reply

  519. kids need to know the difference between wanting and needing ,esp once they hit college ages

    Reply

  562. Money, other than time, is one of the most important commodities as an adult…. why not instill good spending behaviour as early as possible.

    Reply

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  650. I think it’s very important to teach our kids the value of money and how it’s earned, it doesn’t just pop off a tree!. You have to work to get what you want, especially when you’re older and want to own that home, car, insurance, fun toys and all that!. Plus it really helps them with their goals in life!!
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  662. It is important to teach you kids money doesn’t grow on trees and plastic credit cards can get you into debt! I believe in allowances, and rewards and piggy banks and bank accounts starting from a young age.

    Reply

  677. I worked in Banking and was stunned at how much I didnt know and that I was not alone! Too many people get in trouble because they only know half the info or dont know how to make and stick to a simple budget!

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