When our kids are learning to play a sport, we go out of our way to support them. We get up early, drive them around, buy equipment, practice with them, wash the team's uniforms, volunteer to score, participate in fund-raising drives, or whatever else needs to be done.

Some parents seem to expect that their child will be able to learn how to play the money game without that level of parental support.

Learning to do business is just like learning to play sport, and your child will need a level of commitment from you to become a successful entrepreneur - the same level of commitment that parents give to kids who go on to become successful athletes.

When kids are learning something, whether it's sport, a musical instrument, a language, dancing, or cooking, they have times when they want to quit, or don't want to do the boring bits (like playing scales on the piano, or fielding practice). Part of our role as supportive parents is hauling them out of bed, or reminding them 20 times, or saying "sit down and do it now, because you're not going out to play until it's done".

Your child's business activities are exactly the same as all their other activities. You may need to rearrange the household schedule to allow the time and resources your child needs, and you may need to remind, encourage, or even insist about doing the next step in the process.

Just as there are dozens of sports, there are dozens of business opportunities. Your child may try several different sports before finding one they really enjoy, and likewise, they may try several different business ideas before finding one that suits them. If you are alert for business opportunities and you watch your child's level of interest, you will be able to get behind certain business ideas and help your child to explore them. Understanding that there will most likely be several short-lived business interests is important, because you need to keep getting behind each new idea with just as much enthusiasm as the first. With sports, we limit how many different sports our child is trying to play at one time.

Each one needs time, attention, and equipment, and you need to encourage your child to devote enough time to each one they try to get over the initial "beginner discomfort" and master the skills involved. It's the same with business ideas. You need to make sure your child doesn't take on too many at once, and then not do any of them properly. One or two at a time is plenty. A significant part of our program at Cash-Smart Kids is educating parents about how best to support their young entrepreneurs.

Jenny Ford is an expert in educating children about business and wealth creation. She is one of the founders of http://www.Cash-Smart-Kids.com, and her blog can be seen at http://www.RaisingEntrepreneurs.org

She holds an Honours degree in Psychology, a Diploma in Training and Assessment Systems, and an Advanced Diploma in Business Management. She is the mother of three young entrepreneurs, all of whom started successful businesses when they were nine to twelve years old.

Source: www.articlesbase.com