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Banking on a smarter future with The Smarter Piggy Bank Clinic
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Monday, April 14, 2008 Page B3-2 Business Mirror Manila Bulletin The Daily Tribune Today’s youth are richer than we think. Children are gaining more purchasing power with money coming from their parents and their own pockets. Because of this, kids are fast becoming the center of a growing number of marketing strategies, with more consumer goods and advertisements appealing more to the youth. “While we keep on promoting the youth as the heirs of the present society, it makes sense to give them the tools that will enable them to have a smarter and more mature way of dealing with money at an early age,” Lorenzo Chan, president and chief executive of Pioneer Life, said. With wealth comes smarts. Recognizing the need to hone children’s money smarts, two organizations have linked arms to push financial literacy among children. “The Smarter Piggy Bank Clinic” is a project by Pioneer Life and Blue Cow Co. Inc. and aims to promote financial literacy through a hands-on method of teaching. This workshop is especially designed for students from Grades 1 to 4, and tackles money values and the importance of saving and spending wisely. The program was co-developed with Hong Kong-based money management tutor Sophie Paine of A and B make 3 Ltd. and is based on a financial literacy course for children. Running 30 to 60 minutes long, the highly interactive course focuses on the concept of the needs and wants of children through interactive games and songs that encourage the children’s active participation. One song that was used as a teaching tool was “Bahay Kubo” with some parts of its lyrics changed into items the children normally ask their parents to buy for them. While singing, the kids identified various items and determined which of those were their needs and which were their wants. A competition among various grade levels tapped the activity with prizes given to the winners. “Through the activities, children were made to understand how their parents earn the money they spend and how they as children, can somehow earn their money too by working hard in school and helping in household chores,” Lorenzo shared, “Teaching the children the value of hard-earned money, and the difference between their needs and wants gives them the tools they need to be more discerning when it comes to the money they spend and save.” The Gift of Advanced Learning (GOAL) Montessori School at Sun Valley Paranaque was the first to experience Pioneer’s new financial teaching method for kids. The children’s participation in the said program was overwhelming. The exciting and child-friendly nature of the program made a seemingly dry topic, such as finance, enjoyable for children as young as seven years old. “We intentionally wanted to start a program that targets children from Grades 1 to 4. Studies have shown that it is ideal to teach the value of money at such a young age when a child is already exposed to consumerism, even if it is as simple as buying candy from a sari-sari store or asking their parents to buy them a toy.” Lorenzo added: “We eventually aim to create a wider program that could accommodate more grade levels to be able to make it a consistent effort throughout a child’s education.” Pioneer and Blue Cow, with the help of Panch Alcaraz, a children’s book writer and illustrator, are currently working on a video for kids that shall carry on the similar objectives of The Smarter Piggy Bank clinic. The video aims to promote financial wellness in more schools in order to create smarter savers and spenders among the younger generation. “Children may be richer than we think, but they are also much smarter than we give them credit for,” said Lorenzo. “It’s high time that we take them seriously and take advantage of every opportunity to hone their knowledge on matters that they will have to deal with in the years ahead.” About Pioneer With over half a century of experience, Pioneer consistently charts insurance milestones and annual premiums continue to impress. Pioneer has an extensive network around the Philippines with 34 branches. With an office in Hong Kong, Pioneer Insurance remains the only active Philippine nonlife company writing business in China’s Special Administrative Region. Pioneer is firmly committed to becoming a model Filipino enterprise. It continues to expand and build new foundations, with the opening of Pioneer House Cebu as its most recent milestone. About Blue Cow Insurance is Blue Cow’s first foray. It establishes a unique world of consumption and savings where the traditionally opposed behaviors of savings and insurance, and spending go hand in hand. This is a world driven by the bigger dream of starting Pinoys on the path to financial wellness. |
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