On the list of things that parents hope to teach our kids: eating healthy foods, being kind to others, riding a bicycle, using good manners. Should we add learning how to build a strong stock portfolio?!

I have three daughters who are 8, 5 and 1 years old. During this Christmas season when the older two made their lists for Santa, I realized they had a skewed concept of money.

For example, my darling 5-year-old asked for a Corvette like her grandfather’s. Keep dreaming, sweet girl!

My husband and I work hard to teach them important life lessons, so why are we not including regular lessons about money? My kids are ready to learn about budgeting, saving and investing. I bet yours are too.

On Tuesday, during the FOX8 6 p.m. news, I’m talking to a financial advisor about the best ways to introduce financial literacy to children. We will go over how to communicate the ideas and review some tools that can help. Helping our children learn the vocabulary of money and the foundations of finance should have a place on that list of life lessons.

– Melissa Painter, morning news anchor