You can begin teaching your children about investing as young as six, or even younger if you keep it simple.

The best way to do this is, you guessed it, buy them a share of stock.

The key to keeping interest high is to buy them stock they are interested in. Here are some examples:

• Disney (DIS)
• McDonalds (MCD)
• Gap (GPS)
• Kohl’s (KSS)
• Gymboree (GYMB)

Look at the things you do with your child and what your child enjoys to pick a stock. A child is much more likely to get excited about McDonald’s stock than in a million shares of something they have never heard of. 

Remember: You are not buying your child a share of stock to make them rich. Consider it an inexpensive class on teaching your child to invest. My daughter’s dance class is $50/month – for one month’s worth of ballet, I can teach her something that she will use the rest of her life.