How to teach your kid to count money and make change

Kids today see a lot of money move and very little of it. Taps, swipes and online orders make money invisible. That's why counting real coins matters more now than it used to: a jar of change is the one place where a child can see, touch and add up what money actually is.

Why start at 6

A 2013 report by University of Cambridge researchers, commissioned by the UK's Money Advice Service, found that most children had grasped the main ideas of how money works, like the value of money and that it's exchanged for things, by about age 7. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) describes ages 6 to 12 as the years when kids build everyday money habits, mostly by watching the adults around them.

Counting coins is where that starts. It's also great math practice: counting by 5s, 10s and 25s, adding, and early place value.

Skill 1: Name and sort coins and bills

Pour a handful of change onto a tray and start sorting.

The tricky one is the dime: it's the smallest coin but worth more than a penny or a nickel. Kids often think bigger means more. Say it out loud together: "Small but mighty: the dime is 10."

Then add bills: $1, $5, $10 and $20. Look for the number in each corner.

Game: "Coin detective." Hold a coin behind your back, describe it ("silver, ridges, smallest"), and they guess.

Skill 2: Count a jar of change

1. Sort into piles by coin.
2. Count the biggest coins first. Quarters: 25, 50, 75, one dollar.
3. Then dimes by 10s, nickels by 5s, pennies by 1s.
4. Make dollar stacks. Four quarters, ten dimes, twenty nickels or one hundred pennies all make a dollar. Lining them up side by side is a powerful "aha."
5. Write the total down. Then count it again tomorrow and see if you get the same number.

Skill 3: Count out exact change

This is the real-world test: paying the exact price.

1. Start at home. Put price tags on a few things around the house ("apple: 45¢") and play store.
2. Start with the biggest coin that fits, then add smaller ones. For 45¢: a quarter, then two dimes.
3. Check by counting up: 25, 35, 45.
4. Then try it for real, at a farmers market, a bake sale or a small shop. Hand your child the coins and let them pay.

It's slower than tapping a card. That's the point.

Making money visible when you pay by card

The CFPB suggests thinking out loud about money so kids can follow your choices. When you tap a card, say what's happening: "This takes the money out of our bank account. It's real money, just not coins." When you check a receipt, show them the total.

What to expect

• Age 6: names coins with some mix-ups, counts pennies and maybe nickels.
• Age 7: counts mixed coins with help, starting from the biggest.
• Age 8: counts a jar on their own and pays exact change for small things.

Every child is different. Some love it right away; some need lots of playful practice. Keep it a game. If you want more ideas, the FDIC's free Money Smart for Young People lessons cover pre-K through 12th grade, and include guides for parents.

Make it a quest

In Family Quests, this is the Coin Counter skill, the first step on the Money branch. Quests include name and sort coins and bills and count the coins in a jar, and the mastery quest is count out exact change for a small purchase. Your child does it for real and sends you a photo. You approve it, and they earn coins in the app too. Start free.

Next: teach your kid to save money, or read more about how money habits form.