FinAcademia

After the , I became a bit of a slave to my ideas... drowning in my own Kool-Aid, maybe😅

Some years back, I read an article about language and mathematics.
The takeaway that stuck with me was this: sometimes it’s not that kids don’t understand maths. Nope. It’s that the language used to teach it makes the learning experience intimidating, disconnected, or just plain confusing; before they even get to the right answer: they’ve already lost confidence in learning.

LANGUAGE, right?

Fast-forward to today, through some trial, error, and curiosity, I stumbled upon Nal'ibali WhatsApp number. They’ve introduced a new feature that allows kids (and parents) to listen to audiobooks in all 11 of South Africa’s official languages. That’s gold. Absolute brilliance from the Nal’ibali team 👏🏾

Now, Cinga ke ngoku (think about it)...
What if we approached financial literacy the same way: teaching it in the language that every learner understands and resonates with? Cinga nje (just think) 🤔

OR...maybe I’m just being drunk on my own Kool-Aid 😂

But seriously…
💭 How feasible do you think it is to teach financial literacy in kids’ home languages?
💭 Have you tried it before? What worked and what didn’t?
Would love to hear your thoughts.

Ndiyabulela 🙌🏽

💡𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏: #𝟏 𝐨𝐟 𝟓💡

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐧𝐭

👉 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗸𝗶𝗱—𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘂𝗽 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽?

Watch here, maybe we might share some commonalities 😉: https://youtu.be/r6JPArzaBTk?si=0r7qUvWzow_lYUcX

At the time, I didn’t realise it 🤔, but what my aunt was teaching me were the foundations of 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴—𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

It starts with what we 𝘀𝗲𝗲, 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 as children. Those everyday money lessons, whether planned or unplanned: form the base that shapes how we relate to money later in life. They become the building blocks that dictate how well we measure, plan, and create tools for managing finances.

🌟𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀 is so important. The lessons they absorb today—whether from how we spend, save, or talk about money—can have a lasting impact.

Using myself as a case study☺️ to show how those fun, practical lessons shaped my own relationship with money, and how they highlight the importance of early financial education.

Ndiyabulela 🙌🏽

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲: 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀(𝗔𝗧𝘀)

🚀 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨: 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 🚀

Blanket rules work in some cases, but this is not one of them. Hence, I love these ATs: The model provides a framework for assessing children’s financial capabilities based on the financial literacy they have acquired.

🌟 The document illustrates this clearly: it provides insight into the type of learner being engaged and how to model a suitable framework (or approach) by understanding the Attachment Theories(ATs) each learner has adopted or adapted. It is important to note that all the learners in the document are nine years old, in Grade 4, and attend the same school and class: this forms the basis of my plot and characters ☺️😉. Two texts from each Attachment Theory.

The challenge is simple: you must decide where each learner belongs — 1️⃣ Secure Style, 2️⃣ Fearful-Avoidant, 3️⃣ Anxious-Preoccupied, or 4️⃣ Dismissive-Avoidant. The choice is yours! 🤪

As brief as these images are, we hope and aim they brings to life:💡From a teaching and learning perspective, the integration of in for building foundational financial capabilities calls for a re-evaluation of learning philosophies and instructional strategies. The role of educators will start to shift from mere content delivery ➡️ to facilitation and guidance. Educators will now be expected to co-create knowledge with their learners, using financial literacy as a lens to foster empowerment, resilience, and strategic thinking. Further, financial literacy will also serve as a mediator for unlocking other avenues of growth and opportunities, far beyond the confines of learning and teaching.💡

In your observations, experience, life-teachings and/or learnings how have you measured financial capabilities in kids? Let's hear it, thanks.

Siyabulela 🙌🏽

&

Some many moons 🌗 🌔 back, 3 years ago for the sake of context. I read a piece from &PensionsService by Dr Nicola Davies (2021) on attachment theory and why its important to pay attention at some of the psychological aspects when measuring kids' financial capabilities in grasping the literacy.

💡𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗶𝗱𝘀?

A lot more than you think...

The way children develop attachment styles, how they see themselves and others; can deeply influence how they view money, risk, and decision-making later in life. When teaching financial literacy/capabilities, it’s not just about budgets and savings, and financial concepts: it’s about shaping confidence, independence & healthy relationships with money while considering their geographical areas, cultures and backgrounds.

& how that relationship often shows-up in our adult life is deeply rooted in these theories. Therefore, 𝗹𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺(𝗞𝗜𝗗𝗦) 𝗡𝗢𝗪

💡 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲: Kids with secure attachment often develop a positive self-view. In hashtag , this means they’re more likely to believe in their ability to save, invest, and make sound decisions. Teaching them to set goals and celebrate progress reinforces this strength.
💡 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲–𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁: Independence is their default mode. They may avoid collaboration or dismiss advice. hashtag lessons can encourage them to see the value of teamwork, guidance, and community-based support in wealth-building: showing that independence doesn’t have to mean isolation.
💡 𝗔𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀–𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗱: With self-doubt creeping in, these kids may seek validation in spending or feel anxious about mistakes. hashtag should build confidence in decision-making, teaching that mistakes are learning opportunities, not proof of inadequacy.
💡 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹–𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁: Inconsistent experiences may make trust difficult. For these children, hashtag should focus on stability and predictability: through consistent saving habits, clear rules, and structured money activities that nurture a sense of security.

✨By aligning financial literacy with emotional development, we don’t just raise kids who can “count money and understand concepts”. 𝗪𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.

And that's what at most, I try to achieve and with what I have seen Mjojo Finance Play do👌🏽

👉 Imagine a generation that grows up with both financial confidence and emotional security. That’s the real foundation for reshaping financial capabilities. That's a flex as the gen Z would normal say 😉

❓Kancane nhe, out of curiosity, which one from the above theories revealed itself to you; say once or two or many times?🤔