TWOKAM Day
CFEE05.14.24
May 15th is the 12th annual “Talk With Our Kids About Money Day” (TWOKAM Day) in Canada. It is a day when the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE) asks that parents and teachers take the opportunity to spend some time talking with their kids about money to help build financial knowledge and skills.
CFEE created the TWOKAM program to be a spark – a catalyst – to getting such conversations started with the hope that they would continue to help improve overall financial literacy. The program succeeded beyond our wildest hopes. Eventually, over 8,000 schools and teachers across Canada were participating, reaching hundreds of thousands of young people about money. In addition, thousands of parents across Canada also responded and either began or continued important talks with their kids about money.
To support the program, CFEE developed the TWOKAM website that is filled with free resources to support parents and teachers – all available in English and French (https://talkwithourkidsaboutmoney.com/)
The reach and impact of this program is so significant that CFEE has continued to support the program, as best we can, with our own internal resources, as we seek a new program partner. Those efforts are underway now with the hope that, in coming years, we will be able to support the efforts of parents and teachers more significantly as we did in the past.
TWOKAM Activities You Can Run at Home:
The Importance of Money
https://talkwithourkidsaboutmoney.com/resources/what-money-means-to-me/
The above activity looks at the importance of money and its role in your life and is designed for children ages 16+. All you need is a movie about money and the time to have a thoughtful conversation when it finishes.
On the activity page, you can find some links to articles with money-themes films, but here are a few others you could consider:
- Aladdin
- The Pursuit of Happyness
- Up
- Cool Runnings
- The Great Gatsby
- The Big Short
- Crazy Rich Asians
Watching these films with your children and discussing the role that money plays in the characters’ lives, how it influences the key actions they take, and what consequences come as a direct result of those actions can help your children recognize the importance of money and the money decisions they make.
The Importance of Building Trust
https://talkwithourkidsaboutmoney.com/resources/the-importance-of-building-trust/
The above activity looks at the importance of, and process for, building trust and is designed for children ages 8-10. All you need is the time and space to have an open conversation with your children.
On the activity page, you will find a step-by-step guide to help you and your child assess their current views on trust, the importance of building trust, and even pave the way to a discussion about the role a credit score will play in their future.
We hope you will take part in this year’s “Money Talk Day,” and if you do, please send along any stories you can share about the experience you had helping prepare your kids for their financial future. You can reach us at mail@cfee.org.