Parents, kids can learn about investing together through regular conversations

Give a kid a dollar, and they’ll spend that dollar. That may be true unless they learn the rewards of saving and even investing in the stock market.

It’s a topic that even most parents aren’t quite confident discussing with their children. Terminology like IPOs, brokers, bids and blue chip stocks can end that discussion quickly.

"Terminology is more intimidating than anything, and once you get that, peel that back, a lot of things are pretty simple," said J.J. Wenrich, a certified financial planner and author of "Teaching Kids to Buy Stocks: Stories and Lessons for Grownups."

Wenrich says financial literacy not a mandatory subject area in most state school systems. "There is a handful of states that have (personal finances) as a requirement to graduate, but it’s not the majority (of schools)," he said.

Some phone apps geared for kids help them learn how to use money they earn from allowance or jobs. "Parents help their kids with the saving, the spending, and then there’s also a feature in there where they can donate to charities," said Wenrich.

He says parents can learn alongside their kids, by setting aside a dime from a dollar to invest. "What does 10% do when you stack it over 5 or 10 years? When they can see that, and they can start to play with the numbers a little bit, that can be eye opening," he explained.

He suggests families make investing a part of every day conversation. "While we’re waiting in line at Chipotle, let’s talk about this line out the door and the fact that they are selling a lot of burritos right now," said Wenrich.

The lessons learned may help kids become better consumers. Wenrich adds, "You don’t have to go into investing as a career to make it part of what you do with your life."