Money Smart Blog

How much control should you have on a child’s spending? - nimbl

Written by Amber Kelsey | Dec 14, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Knowing how much control to have over your children’s spending habits is a difficult subject, and there really is no simple answer. All children are different; they have dissimilar spending habits and learning capabilities. As such, there is no ‘one size fits all’ answer for this question and children’s needs require attention on an individual basis.

As a nimbl user, you may have noticed through our app that we offer a wide range of spending controls available for parents to use as they feel necessary, to assist your children in developing a sense of financial confidence and independence.

For instance, parents are able to set daily and weekly spending limits to help children learn to not spend over budget and options to restrict different means of spending such as online, instore and withdrawing cash from ATM machines.

The number of spending controls used depends initially on the child capability and sense of money and any rules that are applied can be changed instantly and removed as your child starts to develop.

Statements are also a fantastic way to help your children reflect on their spending and taking the time to go through what they have spent is a great introduction to their first steps of managing their own money.

Highlight areas where they may have over spent and items which they may not have needed. There is always a clear differentiation between a need and a want and helping children to understand this from the off will allow them to make better informed purchases in the future. 

For children who are able to manage their money well and independently, parents may not feel the need to look or analyse their statements, as they have the ability to spend wisely and manage their money independently.

If you need any help using the nimbl app or any of the features, please contact help@nimbl.com for more information.