Explaining the ABCs of money and markets to kids

In the last few months, discussions at most homes have inevitably turned to Trumpian trade tariffs, the ongoing war in West Asia, and the cumulative impact on personal finance. Neev Raheja, 13, finds her parents discussing stock market fluctuations most weekends, and the effect of unpredictable geopolitics on the shares and mutual funds they possess. The Mumbai-based teen has been trying to connect the dots between global events and the conversations at home through news clip pings and whatever she overhears. In Gurugram, Diya Maheswari, 11, has seen an increase in the usage of air-fryers to save LPG in anticipation of an energy crisis. Sunday breakfasts now feature air fried aloo parathas instead of tawa roasted ones. For a generation that has grown up during the covid-19 pandemic, uncertainty is perhaps built into their emotional fabric. “But nothing prepares you for the scenes of conflict playing out on the news daily,” says Raheja. Added to that is a sense of curiosity and confusion about how a trading route located beyond their immediate vicinity can be so disruptive for people in South Asia.

Adults often don’t have the vocabulary or the energy to explain concepts like stock market, personal finance or trade to kids. We let it slide, hoping for the curriculum to cover it at some point or for kids to discover these things later in adulthood. But this is not the wisest of ideas. In the book, Piggy Bank to Portfolio: How to Raise Financially Smart Kids, authors Binal Gandhi and Soneera Sanghvi surveyed 500 parents and found that 41% parents felt that they didn’t know enough about money themselves or did not know what to teach their kids about money. “The reality is that money-related habits in children start forming at an early age—by age 7— as shown in a Cambridge study,” they write. “And parents are the biggest influencers when it comes to good money habits in their children. So, if you have any doubts on when to start talking to children about money the answer is now.”

It is not easy making markets and trade accessible to children. Many parents I know have struggled to offer concise and exact answers to questions about the significance of vital shipping routes like the Dardanelles. I have even been asked questions about why Hormuz is a geological wonder, or do I know of any past conflicts around it? As always, I fall back on books and workshops that help explain these concepts using storytelling. Local Gyan, a Mumbai-based education startup, has been rethinking how the Indian curriculum is experienced beyond the textbooks and in the real world. One theme that they have been exploring in this context since last year is Money Matters: From Barter to Bazaar about how systems of trade, trust and collaboration have shaped societies over time. Instead of treating economics and commerce as abstract subjects, these sessions help chil dren understand the ways in which markets functioned in the past and how they operate now based on connections rooted in their immediate context.

Local Gyan is led by Sonam Ambe, a silver medalist from IIT Bombay and Rajesh Bhargavi Krishnan, a designer and educationist. Both believe in using everyday life as a learning tool to connect geology with history, stories with statistics, and landscapes with culture. Conducted at spaces like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, the Money Matters workshops trace the evolution of exchange systems in ancient sites of Sopara, Elephanta and Dungi caves while constantly bring ing the focus back to the present global economy. Children begin to recognise how historical ideas continue to influence the way goods, services, and relationships operate today.

For instance, in the workshop held at the CSMVS’ Children’s Museum, the team spotlighted Nala Sopara, which was one of the biggest ports until the 5th century, where ships from Rome, Egypt, Arabia and the Byzantine empire would dock. The trad ers would take back black pepper, muslin, ivory, spices and rice. Children learnt about the barter system through role play. Familiar neighbourhoods turn into sites of inquiry. The offshore gas and energy fields of Mumbai High and their connections to the current oil crisis, the onshore terminals in Uran, and refineries in Chembur—each of these bring the local context to the kids. “Everyday interactions, the act of buying something, noticing price differences, or hearing a local story become entry points into larger economic concepts. The process encourages participants to question, connect, and apply, rather than simply memorise,” says Ambe, who will be hosting the next set of Money Matters workshops in May, for dif ferent age groups from 7 upwards.

Stories around trade and trading routes can also be drawn from our immediate environment—their long-lasting impact can be reflected in heritage and culture. “Lately my 9-year-old son has gotten into asking ‘why’, ‘what’, ‘how’ around every thing. I ordered honey chilli potato at home, and he wanted to know where this dish was originally from, since when has it been available, who first made it,” says Shreya Minocha, a Delhi-based human resources consultant. “That got me think ing about how migration and trade routes have played such an important role in our lives, and how these can be explained through the lens of a single dish.”

Even now, kids of all ages are amazed that the aloo tikki or cashew-rich chicken qorma weren’t always cooked in India but came into being after the 1492 Columbian exchange of plants, people and ideas. Chillies, potatoes, tomatoes and cashew, which are now ubiquitous in our kitchen pantries, were brought to India by the Portuguese sailors who landed in Calicut in 1498. Goa, taken in 1510, became capital of Portuguese India for the next 450 years. Now, here is one fact mentioned in the book, A to Z of Indian History, authored by Archana Garodia Gupta and Shruti Garo dia that will resonate with many adults and kids alike. The Portuguese started forcing all ships passing through the Indian Ocean to buy a cartaz, a permit to sail safely in Portuguese-controlled waters. This allowed them to control and profit from the booming trade between Asia and Europe. Doesn’t this bring to mind the ongoing news of blockade and tolls across the Strait of Hormuz?

Yet another example of unique crosscultural exchanges is the buffalo mozzarella. Used in pizzas across the world, it is believed to have been invented in medieval Italy using milk from buffaloes of Indian origin. Gupta and Garodia delve into the story behind this in A to Z of Indian History. In 8th century Arabia, the Umayyad Caliphate expanded rapidly to get a foothold in Sindh as well. However, they ran into a problem as the road between Antioch and Massisah in Syria had collapsed due to endless wars between the Caliphate and the Roman Byzantines. The lions roamed free on the land. The Umayyads got 4000 water buffaloes from Sindh to come to the region in long caravans accompanied by their owners. The lions steered clear of these massive creatures. “Their popularity grew as buffaloes were exchanged as valuable and exotic gifts among rulers,” write the authors. “The Greek king received some; so did the rulers of Rhodes and Cyprus. Even the Longobardian Gothic king of Italy was gifted a few.” And that’s how buffalo mozzarella became a connection between India and Italy.

We often think of trade, markets and art as divorced from one another. How ever, if one were to observe closely, trade didn’t just lead to movement of goods but of ideas, opinions and expressions, art and religions as well. In A Children’s History of India in 100 Objects, Devika Cariappa draws attention to the two schools of art that came up between the 1st and 5th centuries in Gandhara and Mathura under the Kushana rule. The former turned into a trade hub, connecting India, China and Central Asia with the Mediterranean. The Gandhara school of art came about when artists trained in classical Greek and Roman traditions created works of art to cater to the tastes of their Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek mas ters. The first images of the Buddha came about in Graeco-Roman style with a mus cular figure, wavy hair, sharp features and flowing robes.

In Mathura, the southern capital of the Kushanas, artists also started sculpting the Buddha using speckled red sandstone from the area around Sikri. The imagery, drawing from nature deities or the yak shas, started appearing in stupa railings. While the two cities have now trans formed, the impact of ancient trading routes can still be felt in the art and archi tecture that lives on there. Stories such as these serve to highlight that commerce is not just about statistics, and politics is not limited to the present moment. By broadening our own view, we can make these concepts engaging and accessible to the kids.

Raising Parents is a monthly column about art and culture ideas to inspire both children and adults.