Rich Kids Go to Camp for Finance Lessons

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- For many parents, teaching their kids about money is as simple as offering an allowance, filling a pickle jar with pennies or helping them sign up for their first savings account.

But for children in high-wealth families, who will someday inherit their parents' business or money, preparing for the future is a much different, and vital, process.

Joline Godfrey caters to this expanding demographic with programs through her company, Independent Means Inc.

Originally trained as a social worker, Godfrey was hired by Polaroid to work with its employees and their families. In 1992, her life took a turn when she wrote a magazine article about women business owners. The experience was eye-opening.

"Had any of the women I interviewed had financial education, their businesses would have been different," she says. "They would have probably been larger, for one thing."

In response, she started a business that specializes in financial education for kids.

"Girls were being passed over because we expect too little of them in terms of financial responsibility," she says. "On the other hand, we assume too much about boys. So what was happening is the girls were growing up without being encouraged to become financially intelligent and boys were growing up too embarrassed to ask questions because, of course, they were guys and they were just somehow supposed to know these things. Meanwhile, the world is getting more financially complex, and neither girls nor boys had any serious preparation."