The challenge

Step 1

Help your child gather together bottles and cans for recycling.

Step 2

Once you have a decent-sized box of recyclables, talk with your child about how much money you estimate you'll earn by dropping these off at your closest Return and Earn depository.

Tip:

Learning about money can be complicated for young children because they may not see it used often and the sizes of different coins do not give necessarily clues about their value. You can help your child by talking about how weird it is that the 50 cent coin is much bigger than the 1 dollar coin, but it is only worth half as much.

Step 3

Drop your items off at the Return and Earn depository and work how much money you've both earned.

The conversation

Encourage your child to think of something they'd like to save money for – an item or an activity they want to do. Whether they are earning money by recycling bottles, doing jobs at home or helping around the community, you can help them understand how money works by supporting them to set a goal and work towards it. Each time they earn a little bit more, help them work out how much more they need to achieve their goals.