Stock Market Games

Question: How do you make a million dollars in the stock market? 

Answer: Start with two million!

A fun way to get your kids and teens interested in investing is to learn about the stock market. The best way to learn about the stock market is to experience the ups and downs. You can do this very simply by having your child pick a few stocks and track them. Let them pick companies that they already know or ones that they are interested in learning more about.

To help them think about what companies to pick, have them walk around the house and make a list of items that they use regularly: Cable TV, computer, cell phone, snacks they eat, shoes they wear. You can go further by having them think about water for the shower, electricity for the lights, gas for heat, and the car in the garage.

Once they pick a few companies that interest them, help them do some basic research using a site like Yahoo! Finance, Google Finance or Market Watch. All of these websites let you set up a “My Portfolio” so your child can easily keep track of their stocks. One interesting option is to compare two stocks that sell the same product such as Coke vs. Pepsi so they can see the difference between the market forces and specific company risk.

Each day track the price of the stock and any related news either on-line or the old-fashioned way with pen and paper. Get the dialogue going with your child and talk about why the price changed that day/week/month. For a macro view of the business world, have your child read the headlines in a daily business newspaper like the Wall Street Journal or flip through a finance magazine like Forbes.

If your child or teen decides to take their interest to the next level they can see if their school has an investment club or they could start one! Another option is some schools use the Stock Market Game as an after school program.  

If you are looking for an educational yet fun option for this summer, check out the Stock Market Seminar offered at The Schoolhouse. You’ll recognize the instructor—that’s me!    

You don’t have to be a stock market guru to enjoy this activity with your kids or teens. The most important thing is to show your child that there’s no single “right answer” when it come to investing in the stock market. Teach them that it is essential to do your research, exercise caution and to ask for help from an expert when you need it. Explain that investing in the stock market is for long-term goals like retirement because the stock market has positive days and negative days however over longer time periods your investment will tend to earn positive returns.

Keep it simple and have some fun learning about investing for the long-term with the stock market.