10 Ways We Fail Our Kids Financially

You don't make your kids work: You may believe that, because your family makes enough money, you can spare your kids the hardship and annoyance of finding a summer job or part-time work in the last years of high school. This would be a mistake. Making your kids earn their own money teaches them how difficult it is to make the $50 they want for the latest video game. They will quickly learn that Uncle Sam takes his share as well.

Your kids don't have to contribute toward what they use: When your kids get old enough to start using expensive gadgets, they need to pay their share. Letting your kids use a cell phone and paying the entire bill for them, or allowing them to drive the family car without buying gas or defraying insurance costs is a fantastic way to fail them financially. Teaching them early may mean you don't also have to bail them out for four years of college as well.

You don't have any "you will thank me later" moments with your kids: These moments could be declining to give them the amount of allowance they want or making them pay for their own car if they want one. When they are responsible for the payments, they are forced to learn how to use the things they enjoy within their budget.

Your kids don't know how to take care of what they own: When something your kid has suddenly stops working, it doesn't mean you should automatically replace it. The worn look of the cell phone isn't only because it isn't this year's model, it's also because they expected to get this year's latest model and therefore didn't feel it was necessary to take care of it. The things your kids own should be properly maintained and taken care of so they don't need to be replaced every year -- a lesson that can save tens of thousands of dollars on car purchases when they are older.