First Bank Deposit

I often take our five year old daughter with me to the bank to make deposits or withdrawals. I do it primarily because our bank has refreshments and she enjoys getting a snack when making a visit. However, I also hope that she is learning as she watches me make deposits to our account.

Yesterday, our five year old daughter asked to make her first bank deposit, from a bag of coins that she had been saving. I estimate she has saved about $15 to $20 of coins. After some contemplation, she decided to deposit $0.77 to her account. However, before doing the deposit, she had several question about the concept.

Will they give me my money back? As with most children, she was concerned that whoever she gave anything to would keep it and not return it. Probably a reasonable concern given the number of banks that have failed, but I didn't think that was the question she was asking :-) My answer was, " The bank is just holding your money for you. You can get it back anytime by asking for it."

How will they know which are my quarters? Another good question. If she gave a friend a stuff animal to use, she certainly would want the same one returned. I tried to explain that the case for money was different. I showed her two different quarters and asked if it mattered which one she received, because they were both worth 25 cents.

After her question were answered satisfactorily, I filled out a deposit slip and we drove to the bank. I modeled the activity by making our deposit first. She then put her money on the counter and said, "I want to make a deposit." After getting her receipt, the teller gave her a child friendly balance book to track her savings.

Hopefully, our daughter will make many more deposits and begin to learn the virtue of saving :-)

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This is not financial or parenting advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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