As parents, we all want to do the best we can to teach our children how to be happy, healthy and independently wealthy!  :)  But seriously, it is very important to show our children how best to manage their finances and in my opinion, those lessons can never be learned too early.

Since most children receive a weekly or monthly allowance, plus monetary gifts from friends and relatives throughout the year, they have multiple "teaching moments" with which to learn about budgeting their income.  Prosperity 4 Kids has invented a fun, financial teaching tool for kids with the Money Mama & The Three Little Pigs series of products.  Keep reading to learn more about them!

Prosperity 4 Kids is a company founded by Lori Mackey, who's widely recognized as a leading expert on kids and money.  She's also a mom of two who understands the hardships of trying to teach children about the value of a dollar.  I had the opportunity to review the children's storybook, "Money Mama & The Three Little Pigs" complete with bonus read-a-long CD, as well as the Money Mama the Smarter Piggy Bank.

Since most consumers these days are struggling with their finances, I thought that the subject of how to manage your money was perfect for a children's book.  Money Mama & Her Three Little Pigs teaches children how to build wealth and be money smart by using the simple 10/10/10/70 rule.  Never heard of this?  Well, here's how it works:

• GIVE 10% to a charity of their choice
• INVEST 10% to build their fortunes
• SAVE 10% for their future
• SPEND 10% for everyday expenses

This book helps give children both an understanding and "big world" picture of why managing your money according to the 10/10/10/70 rule is so important, and the piggy bank gives them a hands-on tool to put what they've learned to practice.  The children's story is very well written, explaining tough concepts in an easy to understand manner and providing plenty of colorful illustrations to capture your child's attention and imagination.

Reading through this story, I saw so many places where you could stop and have a more in-depth conversation about money and the responsibility that comes along with earning it.

Now, couple this well-written book with the very cute and entertaining Money Mama the Smarter Piggy Bank and you have a wealth of motivation for your children to put what they've learned into practice.  As soon as Riley gets older and begins to earn an allowance, I plan on paying her according to the 10/10/10/70 rule, meaning that if she receives $5 per week, I will deliver her allowance to her in payments of $0.50, $0.50, $0.50, $3.50, so that she can easily apply her newfound financial skills.  Hopefully, this will become an automatic habit before too long.

The only thing that disappointed me a little was the Money Mama the Smarter Piggy Bank itself.  The packaging showed the three small piggies with their roles imprinted onto their bellies, which made a great reminder of who was who, but once I saw the bank itself, there wasn't any place which had the names of the three piggies listed...not even on the bottom.

There is a quick reminder tag strung around the neck of Money Mama illustrating the benefits and importance of each piggy, but the packaging leads you to believe that it will be on the piggy's belly itself, which is untrue.

Other than that minor detail regarding the piggy bank, I couldn't be more thrilled with these two items from Prosperity 4 Kids.  The children's book, "Money Mama & The Three Little Pigs", was outstanding in both concept and content and Riley simply loved the Money Mama the Smarter Piggy Bank too.  I can't wait to get Riley started on the path to financial independence, thanks to Prosperity 4 Kids!