Family is a primary influence on a person's money-management attitudes and behaviors. The good news is that children want to learn about money and look to their parents for guidance. But many parents are uncomfortable talking about money issues with their children or feel unqualified to teach their children about personal finance.

There's no reason for parents to take on the challenge alone. Many education specialists have developed interesting materials and fun tools that can help parents teach good money skills to their children and, perhaps, learn better money skills for themselves.

Read more about some of the organizations with financial education materials for children:

• Choose to Save®
• Consumer Federation of America (CFA)
• FirstGov for Kids
• Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE)
• Jump$tart Coalition
• The Mint
• National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)
• NEFE Teen Resource Bureau
• U.S. Department of the Treasury

Choose to Save®

Choose to Save® is focused on one thing: financial education. Information and advice on raising money-smart kids is available in the Savings Tips section, including resources as varied as Grandparents, Youth & Money and Kids & Money - Preschoolers through Teenagers. The Brochures section includes brochures for parents and children to download, including titles such as It's Never Too Late to Save, Just Starting Out, The Magic of Compounding and a Piggy Bank Wrapper.
 

Consumer Federation of America (CFA)

CFA works to give consumers a voice in matters and decisions that affect their lives. The Publications section includes a brochure titled Teaching Your Children How to Save and Spend, which addresses what teenagers need to know about money and how best to teach them good financial skills.
 

FirstGov for Kids

FirstGov for Kids is a U.S. government interagency portal for kids that includes a Money section with an extensive list of websites designed to help kids of all ages learn more about handling money. Cyberchase: The Quest provides younger children with a series of adventures and games designed to teach them about saving and spending. Teenagers can learn about financial concepts and strategies related to small business ownership from the Small Business Administration's Teen Web Guide and Small Business Classroom.
 

Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE)

ICFE works to help educate people about the importance of increasing savings and offers tips for spending and using credit wisely. The Children and Money section caters to both parents and children. "Children & Money" provide suggestions for parents and grandparents, and publications for children and young adults include a Young Spender's Profile evaluation tool and a How to Develop Improved Spending Techniques and Practices publication that describes a step-by-step process for young adults to gain control of spending.
 

Jump$tart Coalition (Jump$tart®)

Jump$tart® promotes personal finance education at the K-12 educational level. Its Clearinghouse section includes a comprehensive database of low-cost or free personal finance materials.
 

The Mint

NCEE and Northwestern Mutual collaborated to create The Mint, a website with resources for teaching young kids how to be money-savvy. Children can access interactive learning tools on topics such as earning, saving, spending, tracking, investing and owning. The Pointers for Parents and Fun for Kids sections offer parents many pointers and suggestions to help them successfully teach their children financial responsibility.
 

National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)

NEFE's principal mission is to assist people in achieving pragmatic personal financial management skills. To raise financial literacy, NEFE offers Education Programs tailored mainly to young adults, but open to all age groups. The website offers parents with young children many resources, including an easy-to-follow guide: Give Your Child an Education in Finance.
 
The NEFE Teen Resource Bureau (NTRB) was developed by teens to help their peers gain insight on smart personal finance management. Teenagers and young adults can visit the NTRB website to find out how their peers are handling money matters such as budgeting, saving, investing and developing entrepreneurial businesses.
 

U.S. Department of the Treasury

The U.S. Department of the Treasury offers a great resource for parents and teachers of children age 6 and younger with learning tools and games on topics such as savings bonds and coins. By following the Savings Bond link, children can learn what a bond is, where to get one, and how much money a bond will create for them. By clicking on the U.S. Mint link, children can learn everything they could want to know about the different coins in their pockets.