How much money do you make?
Many parents are reluctant to share their salaries with their children—in part because they understand how eager their kids might be to compare notes with their friends. But children have concerns about money, and refusing to talk with them about it could cause anxiety and a fear of the topic that may well last into adulthood. Too much information can overwhelm kids, though. So try to be honest without telling them more than they need to know.
As a first step you could explain that you make enough money to ensure your family has everything it needs. That doesn’t necessarily mean disclosing a number. In fact the difference between $50,000 and $500,000 might not mean much to your fifth-grader. Instead think of the question as an opportunity to talk about how the money you make helps pay for the things your family needs, such as food and housing.
For younger kids, you can use a pile of change to represent what you take home every month. Then list your family’s monthly expenses—from groceries to TV bills—and draw from that change pile to show how that money is spent. The remaining money, you can explain, goes into savings and can be used for expenses, such as college or family vacations.
你赚了多少钱？
许多家长不愿意向孩子们透露他们的薪水，某种程度上是因为他们知道自己的孩子有多乐意和她们的小伙伴们攀比。但是，孩子们对钱是很关注的，回避向孩子们谈论金钱的话题可能会引发她们的焦虑和担忧，这些情绪或许会持续到她们成年时候。然而，太多的信息量会压垮孩子。所以，坦率地，只告诉孩子们她们需要知道的事。
首先，你可以表明你的收入能够保障家庭日常开支。这并不需要给出一个数字。事实上，五万和五十万的差距对你还是小学生的孩子来说差别不是很大。不如将这个问题当作是一次谈心机会，讲讲你赚的这些钱是如何花费在家庭生活所需上的，比如食物和住房上的开销。
对于更小的孩子，你可以用一堆硬币表示每月带回家的钱。然后列出家里月度花销，从食品杂货到电视账单，从这零钱堆里抽取代表的部分，以此来展示钱是怎么被花掉的。而剩下的硬币，要把它们存起来。这些存起来的钱可以用来支付孩子的大学费用和家庭度假等花费。
