I don’t want to sound like I work for a bank but I do believe in encouraging children to save money. As soon as they are old enough to understand that money buys things, start a savings account for your child. As with most things, they learn about saving from you.

Saving money in life is something that we all need to learn. Recent articles talking about saving by Americans report that we as a society are living on the edge. more than 62 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings account and 21 percent don’t even have a saving account or plan according to a survey conducted by Google Consumer Survey. That means that most people in the U.S. do not have the cash reserves to cover an emergency.

It is clear we need to teach our children about saving. We need to sell our children on this idea so that their future will be more secure.

Last week we discussed allowance. This is the primary source of money for most children. Let your child spend some of her allowance but then make sure that before she spends it all, she sets aside some that she will put in her “savings” account.

With a very young child, you will need to help her save some money before you try to open an account for her. If you have a savings account, let your child see you putting money into that on a regular basis. You need to encourage your child to save. This is another one of those many lessons that children learn from their parents.

For a young child, savings probably begins with a piggy bank. Your child will enjoy the sound of the money as it drops into the bank. It doesn’t teach a lot about savings but it is a way to begin.

Give your child a magic money jar. Instead of a piggy bank, use a glass or clear plastic jar and encouraging them to put their coins in it. Once the change reaches a dollar or more, replace the coins with a dollar bill while your child isn’t around. Not only does your child feel it is magic, she also learns how quickly her change can add up.

If she has something she really wants, help her learn to save to buy it in the future. Let her start small and learn that by saving some of the money for a few weeks, she can buy things that cost more.

Certainly think about setting up a savings account for her. Most banks encourage this for kids. It will make her feel older. A way to help this be successful is to match her savings. Then she really can see her savings grow.

Be sure to praise her when she puts more into her savings account or even if she saves money for a couple of weeks or more to buy something special. Talk about it with grandparents when she hears how proud you are of her.

Talk about things you have saved for recently and even things you saved for as a child. Children do like to hear your stories.

But probably the most important thing is to learn to save money yourself. If you don’t know how to do it, you are unlikely to be able to teach your child how to do it.

When you set a goal to set aside money for a trip or an expensive item, let your child know what you are doing. Then she can see as you make progress toward that goal.

Talk about it. Let her see you make progress and ultimately achieve your goal. That will teach her the best way how to reach her goal.

Even hearing you talk about saving money for her to go to camp or go to college teaches her about saving.

Don’t pass up an opportunity to teach her this very important lesson. We all need to practice the art of saving.

Cynthia Martin is the founder of the First Teacher program and director of Parenting Matters Foundation, which publishes newsletters for parents, caregivers and grandparents. Reach Martin at pmf@olypen.com or at 681-2250.