Give your children a sound financial education. If they're old enough to get an allowance, then they're old enough to manage their finances. Would you like your children to learn about stocks? Give them a vested interest. Buy them a share in their favorite company for their birthday, forever family day or whenever.

Open a savings account for your child. Have her put ten percent of her allowance into the account every week. As an incentive, you may wish to put in a matching deposit. When the bank statement arrives in the mail, go over it with your child, even if she's too young to understand math, she'll understand that her money is growing. Encourage her to put a portion of her birthday money and other gift money into her savings account.

If she's saving up for something special, have her figure out how much she'll need to set aside each week. If her allowance won't cover it and she's too young to earn any money, you can still have her regularly set aside a small amount on the understanding that if she sticks to her savings plan, you'll supply the rest.

If your child has enough in her savings account to afford a stock, buy her one share (minors may not purchase stocks). Let her choose her favorite company, she'll take a much more active interest in her investment. Help her keep track of the value of her share. For her next purchase she'll need to decide if she wants to stick to her first company, or switch to something new.

If you wish to make a larger contribution, or if your child is employed, consider enrolling him in a drip investment plan. Regularly investing a small amount each month or each quarter shouldn't be too much of a financial strain. Gain or loose, he'll learn valuable lessons about selecting the right companies to invest in. Let him choose the company or companies he wants to invest in. This is an educational experience, not a money making experience. When your child walks into McDonalds, or buys a coke or watches a movie, he'll know that he owns a part of the company.

Start a kids investment club. Your children and their cousins and other young relatives may only get together one or two times a year, but they can prepare for and discuss stock selections to invest in. They don't have to pool their funds for investment as many investment clubs do. They can each purchase a share or shares of the same company at the same time, and make decisions to sell their current shares and invest in different companies, if necessary. The NAIC is a good resource for investment education and they have a membership program for young investors as well as for adults.

If your child is employed, start an IRA for him. He should contribute ten percent of his paycheck to his IRA. It is the money you invest in your youth that will provide for you in retirement. With compounded interest and automatic reinvestment of dividends, an early start can make a huge difference in the quality of your retirement.

Do you have a financial strategy that you feel strongly about? Make a plan. Teach your children. Don't let them learn about finances the hard way even if you have to charge your teenagers "rent" (save the "rent" payments as a downpayment for their first house).