Bitcoin Forum

I was wondering they need to be able to understand Bitcoin and all the risks which I would be more than willing to help with but what is the best age to actually introduce them to it and allow them to maybe trade under my supervision? I have a sense and I know it's my responsibility to chose when they are allowed to trade and interact with others but I would like to introduce them as soon as possible and it will all be under my super vision.

So when did you introduce Bitcoin to your kids?

When they stop to brake tablet and smartphone ?  ::)

I don't think you should be indoctrinating them with Bitcoin at all. If it gets mainstream attention and people are actually using it, you can just tell them how it works as soon as they may need to use it. But apart from that, it depends whether they ask about it. Why forcing that technology on them?

As soon as they can read and start to work on computer, you can introduce your kids to Bitcoin, but just gibe basic info.
If you think that Bitcoin is good investment, you can start collecting Bitcoin for them and help their financial future.

Actually they are interested but I think that's because they've seen me doing some things related to Bitcoin and want to help out I know that they don't understand and haven't researched into it.

Simple. As soon as they're old enough to start learning about money and can use a cheap tablet without breaking it or downloading $10,000 worth of apps, introduce them to Bitcoin. Tell them they can "earn" Bitcoin by doing their chores, using good manners at the dinner table, and going to bed without giving you a fight, and then redeem those Bitcoin for rewards like candy bars and movie nights.

Pre-womb. A Bitcoiner SHOULD only procreate with a fellow Bitcoiner. Let me rephrase that.

Depends how smart your kids are and how they are with technology.

At the same time they start using other currencies. When you open their first savings account you can also set up their first bit coin wallet.

You should introduce things that are revolutionary and important to your children so they can learn about technology that is important. If they understand bitcoin and how to use it properly then they will less likely do something that would cause their coins to be stolen when they start using it. 

Best age would be 8 - 10. Especially when you taught them how to save money and they are old enough to understand the concept of money.

I'm 14 now and I wish I had discovered bitcoin when I was 12. The funny thing is, my parents don't understand it and think it is a waste of time.
But when bitcoin hits $10 000 they'll regret it... :)

At current with bitcoin still being in it's early stages still I would say it's too early to be explaining to kids exactly what it is until it's being used a lot more than it is now.

Once it is being used a lot more than it is now I would say when they are able to fully understand it better would be a best age, around 13 years old is appropriate in my opinion.

Explain what crypto currency is and not specifically bitcoin.

The utility and function of bitcoin can easily be copied by any coin developer.

Yeah when they are old enough to understand the technical terms. Don't force it on them, like most people do with religion...

just the same age when they are able to manage their own money

I would agree that this is probably the best age to teach a child about bitcoin. You should teach them around the same time you teach them about "traditional' fiat money. You may want to wait a little while longer until you teach them how to secure their coins and the risks of not securing them.

When they are old enough to use a computer and don't fall for scams, neither be hacked.

I think wharever age you would be confident to let them take part in this forum, considering we have a gambling section and topics like lets talk about how hot the asians girls are. It really varies from person to person.

Bitcoin secuirty starts with Pc security, if children knows they should not open the strangers files its pretty safe to use bitcoin. I also think best age is 10 and above.

Honestly, introduce it to them now. Why wait? There're different levels of freedom you should give them based on the percentage of their intelligence they have developed, but that can be a sliding scale (depending on your judgement).

May be at 9-11 years. When children becomes a little bit smarter to realize all the good thing that bitcoin may offer :)

Personally, if they can use a computer well and secure their computer, they should be fine. Maybe as a teen? If they're not responsible then they don't deserve to deal with btc.

I would say once they start getting interested in money, and want to purchase stuff
Of course teaching them about technology seems like a no-brainer though since they are curious but they probably would be better off learning it steadily over the years.

I don't think you should try expose them to bitcoin at a too early age. Kids need time to be kids and they grow up too fast these days. If they're curious about it tell them though.

Do you think that it's a good age? At this age children sometime don't understand what is dollar and the difference between usd and euro imho

I think that children who dont know what is dollar at 9 years its smth impossible to imagine. Cause year by year children becomes more and more smarter than older generation of children. I think you understand me and my idea

It's true but there are a lot of children that live in a troubled families and they may not heard about dollar. Ok may be not dollar but the diff between dollar and euro

Well in general the younger a child learns about finance and how to earn and manage their money the better since it builds up good habits that last a lifetime.

That said learning should be a privilege not a chore and used as a tool not an obstacle so its important to make things easy, and make old subjects like finance seem like a fresh thought by teaching them Bitcoin and unconventional methods to learn about finance in a new light.
If a child understood what is money before they were 10 and what is fiat that would be mighty impressive.
Since its not taught much in school, or general finance for that matter.

Yeah, may be you right

I'd suggest contacting the dev in of Piggy Coin,  Their coin is aimed at children and teaching them to learn and understand Crypto so they would likely have an idea of a proper age group for kids to get started with Bitcoin.

It is pathetic when you read "advice" in the coloured press on how to teach children to save at the age of six. "Do you want that toy this year, or maybe save for next year and have more?". When in reality, next year they can probably not buy the toy they want for the same money.

As soon as they are able to grasp the concept of money, tell them about good money and bad money, and offer them a choice to save grandma's gift in sound money, or convert them to hard assets (like toys).

What is the purpose of this? It's like punishing a bad student by telling them they're not allowed to do homework. Kids should be encouraged to do new things and learn. That's how you grow.

1. Teach them what 'money' is as soon as they understand the concept.

2. Teach them how 'money' is 'created' as soon as they understand the concept. At this point they should then be ready to move on to..

3. Why there has to be an alternative.

But at what age is that? The true concept of money is hard to understand for kids. Heck, most adults dont even understand it.

That's what brought me to this conclusion I'm teaching them how to handle fiat money so I thought it would be a great idea to also show them Bitcoin but they are already interested in Bitcoin so it's a little better I think I would be able to teach them more because they would be willing to learn.

I bought my niece a silver coin for her 5th b'day. My sis thought I was nuts lol. I guess no age is too young to start.

I think when they will know how to use the pc and have their own emails , otherwise you ought to not tell them about cryptocurrencies

When they reach 14-15 I think it would be a good age for them to learn responsiblity with their own money/coins and how to handle them. :)

After thinking about this a little bit I think you should probably wait until they are in the mid-teenage years until you teach them the importance of security measures. It is true that people will try to steal your bitcoin if they have the opportunity, however this is really not something you want to be teaching your innocent child

i'd say around 8 years old minimum

As soon as you think they are ready? I guess when your teaching them about money you should show them bitcoins's.  ;D

IMHO it's relative. Because of maturity of each child is different.
I think 10 - 12 is the best age.

Well when they in their teens, they should be old enough, to understand the concept of money, especially "pocket money" and believe me, they do. {I have 2 of them}

I am acctually paying 10% of their pocket money into a BTC paper wallet each month, for them to understand the concept of "saving" and for them to grasp the BTC principle.

Now and then, I import some of it, and they spend it on small thing, to see how it works.

My oldest son, not a teen, introduced me to BTC and he helps them with some of the transactions online, to make sure, they not spending it on "Silkroad" *joke.  ;D 

You won't need to introduce them, this isn't some shitty religion. Your kids will introduce themselves when the time comes, just like they do with the internet, smart phone, car, and any other useful tool in their lives.

Agreed. The financial system will be pushed forward by the young ones, but I doubt that it'll change.

I was told to start saving at the age of 8 or so, but did not learn the second part until I was an adult. I suspect that you meant the price of the toy will go up. That is not necessarily the case.

Because we are living in a consumer society with disposable items, that "toy" you want to buy may only have a life-time measured in months that it is actually available for sale. This is particularly true for electronics where new items are quickly replaced by newer items. Other toys such a water guns are considered "seasonal": meaning you can only buy them during certain portions of the year (the summer in the case of water guns).

Electronics are a weird one: because of rapid innovation, the price of a specific item actually goes down over time. not up. You pretty much have to move to the used market within a year though.

My daughter has 8 years old and she knows about bitcoins and what they can do for us in the future.

IMHO, you shouldn't introduce bitcoin to your kids.  You should provide them with the resources that will allow them to discover it themselves.  ;)

If kids don't understand that a dollar will buy them a candy bar but not a Legos set at that age, you're doing something wrong. Introducing them to Bitcoin at about the same time they start receiving an allowance will be a good way to teach them about budgeting. You can't spend Bitcoin you don't have the way you can with credit cards.

Any age really. If they are playing almost any video game, the game will have a currency or type of trade in it. Even games that don't have markets to sell to other players have micro transactions now for the developer. Games like sonic the hedgehog and pacman and others had types of currency/score/life totals. It really isn't a hard concept when I was 4 to understand all the different things in video games.

My daughter is 9, and I have already fully explained it to her.   She gets it as much as a kid can.   She actually shared a physical coin in class, and gave a description of crypto currencies.   Her teacher asked her to write a little written report for extra credit.

It's too risky. Kids could accidentaly send to a wrong address and that money is lost. I'd say 14 is a good age.

I would introduce them to BTC from birth as I would invest a certain % of my income into a BTC 'trust' account to help pay for their education.

I have to admit seeing my cousins, niece and nephews playing with Ipads and smartphones is amazing.  Maneuvering threw photos and Youtube videos is blowing my mind.  I wouldn't be surprised if a 7 yo could use Bitcoin.  I think the real issue is the lack of qualified teachers at the moment.

When you put it like that you do have a point. I see so many children now using all different gadgets and they seem to grasp how to use them quicker than I ever remember I did. A lot of schools now allow the use of things such as iPads and iPods so having things like this in schools is just a start if they could start to teach about bitcoin as well in schools I agree that children could probably grasp it from a more younger age.

Got to love neuroplasticity pretty much their minds are set to adapt to what is around them fast
So they have good tech skills it would be nice if we could find ways to prolong that effect.

Here's some facts to put this into perspective:

1. Children can learn martial arts as early as 3 to 4 years old.
2. Children can learn to field strip and clean, tap, rack and fire a gun as early as 5 to 6 years old.
3. Infants can learn to swim even below 12 months old. (Well, they can learn to float and not drown.)
4. They can learn as many languages as you can teach them below 6.

Warning on number 3., I believe it's an "instinctual" thing that they will forget after like 1 year old, then you need to teach them  :)

Agreed though it's amazing my 3 year old can manuever an ipod just as well as I can, to see his pictures and videos

There's a group of people and swim instructors for this purpose, that know about this, and actually teach kids between 1 to 3 years old, how to self-rescue and eventually swim.

I'm not talking about the infant that does it on instinct. You do need a qualified instructor for this though. I believe the group is called ISR. You can watch videos on youtube.

But you don't write about crypto currency learning, childrens always don't like learn at 6 years old.  :-[

I think these ages are really the exception to the rule. Most kids to do learn how to do these things this young. I would also think that these ages are not an appropriate age to learn these kind of things as they should be "being a kid" when they are 5 or 6.

I remember when I could have learned to drive at 14 or 15.. I actually learned when I was closer to 18/19 so a 2 to 3 year difference is probably okay with what age you want your child to learn whatever it is that you want him/her to learn.

But, in the stuff I have above, I'm going to introduce the concepts to them that early. It's really up to them if they want to learn it some more, they will let you know anyway.

Right now, my 2 year old kid is disassembling firearms virtually on my android phone using an app. He can do 1911s and Glock 19s. He has not yet physically held those firearms, I keep them away for now.

I say teach them around 4 and 7 and teach there freinds kids also and reward them for teaching them, so they can all grwo p to be bitcoiners.  maybe buy them bitcoin tshirts

The brain develops most in the early years of childhood
That's when the mind records information about its environment and surroundings the most and when it processes information
If that critical period is missed things become much more difficult to learn once they are older.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_period#First_language_acquisition

But with Bitcoin 4 to 7 seems fine to me.

The same age when they are able to buy candy from a store and more or less know how to operate at computer.

BTC Future!

Teach the next generation!

I think thats true for the most part but anyone can fall for a scam. The more bitcoin is around the safer it will become I believe. The first step to anything is education of it, so 10 + is good. But when would you first teach your kids about money? The same time you do that you should teach them about bitcoin.

I think as long as they don't become responsible for their own action, I won't introduce them to bitcoin. 8) 8)

@ OP , why would anyone want to introduce bitcoins to a child, thats the same thing like introducing them to a stock market..

In a near future, if bitcoin by some chance goes mainstream, kids will also know about it, but not as a store of value, but kind of as a payment processor.
At the stage bitcoin is in currently, even adults are shaking, now imagine a child?!
That being said, for the love of God; please stop having this type of crazy ideas :P

It should happen after your kids understand the concept of currency and the uses of currency for transactions as well as storing value (i.e., saving, loans).

If you don't have these basic concepts covered your kids may not truly understand Bitcoin and if you teach them about Bitcoin without these basic finance concepts they'll be less wise about how they deal with their money/bitcoin/wealth.

I would say 12-14 years old would be a good age.

after they are good at math

having some bitcoins is like having a piggy bank or savings account,


but more advanced than that. Its also an investment.

I am easygoing, if the child is interested to own and play around with bitcoins then fine with me,

but I believe there needs to be morals/laws, so I'd have to teach:


'Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself'


and its like a game, in a way, to see if ya can get the bitcoins to increase by trading
and other stuff.
if the child gets rich, then they have to give lots to mom and dad  :)

Good thread! I have trained my parents (age 71) to use BTC. We cannot imagine managing our finances without bitcoin now ;)
As for the kids....  my teenage girls both are using BTC and LTC. I have also equipped them with Quark. If I had a boy who uses computer I would buy him a cheap miner just for training. Either way the best moment is when the kids are asking for pocket money ;)

This is true today, but hopefully at a later time bitcoin will be more of a mainstream method of payment that many people use more efficiently then fiat based money.

probably when starts to understand the value of money. :) :)

I would generally not teach a 7 year old about money (or if I were to do so I would stick to the very basics), and bitcoin is more advanced then traditional money. Therefore I would not attempt to teach a child about bitcoin. I think that most children should be able to first grasp the concept of getting an allowance and saving a portion of that money in order to buy something they want (like a large purchase) to show them the rewards of saving over time. Once they understand this concept at that point it may be appropriate to introduce them to bitcoin.

Would it interest you to know that right now I am teaching a teenager how to use Bitcoin? Right now she's waiting for the wallet to sync up. I already explained a bit about how to send and receive Bitcoin and told her that she might try earning some Bitcoin by hanging out on the Services subforum here. I think she gets it so far.

The planet needs more people like you. I have told as many people as I can about bitcoins. I think there has been a great amount of effort placed into slowing down the overall awareness of bitcoins so i believe it is our duty to educate and teach as many people as we can.

Thanks. I think it's mostly that I've mentioned Bitcoin a few times on a fairly popular but (mostly) unrelated Facebook group I'm a member of and a couple of people got curious enough to ask me some questions.

Commandrix article: TEACHING KIDS ABOUT BITCOIN
http://banksworstfear.com/teaching-kids-bitcoin/

Well, when do you start introducing kids to money, their value ect? Maybe from 9 and bitcoin is little bit more complex to understand than normal money, so maybe from 14?

It is absolutely a crucial thing to teach children as early as possible about cryptocurrencies and precuous metals. They are like bread and butter, hand and glove ;)
If we teach our children about cryptos banksters fate is sealed within one or two generations worst case scenario!

BTC is Not for Kids BTC is for People with Age 18

I think a good time to get your kids involved with Bitcoin would be around 15-16 years old. I know that's when I was introduced to the stock market and economics in general. Give them some funds to play with, let them invest either in bitcoin or the stock market (or both) and teach them money and investment management. Teaching them early about principles of saving and investing will pay off big for them in the end. Many of the kids today are simply consumers with no interest in their long term wealth accumulation.

I know my child will hear about Bitcoins very early on, simply due to my own interest in them. I talk about it nearly daily with my significant other, so they will be bound to hear about them VERY early on and of course, then questions will be brought up. Kids' minds are knowledge sponges, teach them everything you can as early as they want to learn it :D

Ah I thought it would be that a bankers worst fear is having kids leadning about it young ^^
But reading the article in agreement when kids begin getting interested in finance is when its time to teach them about it
Hmm a rental bank all internal neat idea to make microfinance interesting

Watching your kids compete to see who can win the most Bitcoin every hour is actually quite hilarious. You know that faucets are a waste of time, but in their minds, they’ve just discovered a new game that they can use to earn just enough to maybe get an extra candy bar.
I imagined this in my mind and snickered a bit ^^.

But its never too early to learn about finance a good foundation from a young age results in a good management in the future.

I'd always hesitate because of the gambling part. One is 16 and I know he will get into it even if he isn't at age. Won't be telling him for another 2 years :(

Basically you don't have to introduce it all to your kids.When the time comes after 15-16 years old they will know everything.Because on this time they can know how to use computer or internet..

Im 14, and I love it! :)

When they learn the concept of saving money and the market. Maybe around 14 years old.

I think the best way would be to give them a small allowance and let them learn on their own. Teach them the basics, warn them about the dangers, and let them get their coins stolen, lost, destroyed, scammed, etc... There is no better teacher than life.

The new "big talk" is all about the birds and the bees and the bitcoin.
It's the 3 B's

Introduce bitcoins to kids when they are mature enough to handle money, they will learn easily. 15 years I would say.

Have you been able to purchase Bitcoin as you are so young?  What do your parents think about it?

I used to be able to buy bitcoin, but I cant anymore since Coinbase blocked my account (I have my own bank account).

Now I make my money from sig campaigns and other business I am made/programmed.

After a few months I was able to convince my dad to invest. He looks at it like a stock/commodity, and I look at it like a currency.

Friends my age dont get bitcoin, i cant imagine actual kids.

If/When I do have kids i'll probably set them up accounts on the day they're born and hopefully be able to put small sums of btc into them until they're an age where I determine they are responsible enough to take over it on their own, if i believe they are mature enough when they're 12 i'll let them take control of their accounts. I would probably teach them how to use btc around the time I teach them about the value of a dollar. TLDR: when they learn the value of a dollar, but i wont give them their accounts until i feel they're mature enough.

Kids tend to understand and adapt to technology a lot faster
So I would say they would be more acknowledging of it in my opinion
Like telling your parents how to use a PC / Digital Camera.

Kids now a days can pick up a tablet and download apps, go on facebook, play video games for hours and so on. I think a 5 year old can send and receive bitcoins.

maybe when he/she enter high school

As a Kid myself I learnt about bitcoin at age 15 (Now 16)

At whatever age you would start paying an allowance in exchange for chores.  The coolest thing about paying an allowance in BTC would be that the kids could learn the value of saving since the value of their BTC may increase the longer they hold it.  You never know, some kids may save their accrued BTC's throughout their life until adulthood and the next thing you know BOOM they're rich when it hits the moon :)

Or become addicted to gambling at a very early age lol

That's a good suggestion I think I may get my kids in via an allowance. but I'll 50/50 it so they can spend their cash but save their btc if they choose to - I will keep onto their wallet so they cant go throwing it away on primedice. 

To everyone else, I'd tell my kids about bitcoin as early as possible - didn't someone make a childrens book about bitcoin already? = well its an ebook anyway:  http://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Beginner-Kids-Trilogy-Inspirational-ebook/dp/B00GCMFWSA

I think when they are familiar with purchasing goods in dollars and dominate them properly. Then introduce another coin to them, that is Bitcoin. They will ask a lot questions about it. You try to explain it to them steps by steps. However, I think they will command the whole principles as they grows up.

Its better not introducing kids to bitcoin on a very early age because they might now know about security and other thing like how it works,at lease not until the age while he understand the usage of money and know its importance

I think, it is better to introduce them when young, at the age of 15-17 years,
cause that age, children already to invest  :)
Sorry Before

may not be difficult to tell the children about bitcoin if they were used and understood about the internet,
also already know about e-currencies like PayPal, Perfect Money, etc
so that's when we can tell about bitcoin, or even they know themselves, because the internet is so vast information.

The same age when kids are introduced to facebook, youtube and play sites...perfect age for understanding BTC.

I think the best age is between 7-10, when the children should have awareness of money including traditional money. :)

For me i think the best time to introduce kids to BTC is when one notice they have developed a saving culture and have a wide understanding of computers.

What's the best age to introduce your kids to Bitcoin?
Soon all babies will be required to have an RFID chip to track their location and Bitcoin balance; Welcome to the Brave New World.   :o
^^Hopefully, this will not happen, "how are things going" where you live...?

Yep, I agree with your idea.

Life is a gamble my friend, if you aren't taking risks (good calculated risks are recommended) then you'll never do or become anything.  Almost every single inventor took a big risk to make it big, many failed, but without trying you can never get there :)

Probably at 16-18 years Bitcoins are a serious thing, it's not easy or a thing "for childs".
I think that to understand bitcoin the guy have to be mature . It may be dangerous :(

with my age now is 19 .. and hope i'll marry at 26 and have a kid at 27 ..
i think my child will know bitcoin automatically :3 .. i doesnt need to introduce it

After thinking about this a little bit I think I will probably wait until they are in the mid-teenage years until you teach them the importance of security measures. It is true that people will try to steal your bitcoin if they have the opportunity, however this is really not something you want to be teaching your innocent child.

At the same time, I would look out for their maturity. The maturity of one boy could be different from another boy. I would teach them the concept of money, stocks, and investing because introducing them to bitcoin.

Our kids will grow using bitcoins in their everyday life!

As soon as he ask me about it. :)

What if he ask you by the time he is 12

The best age to introduce your kids to bitcoin would be as soon as they can understand it. You don't want to rush complicated things on your children but it all depends on how smart and tech savvy they are. Kids are getting more smarter with tech nowadays though.

I dont want to introduce him to bitcoin. I want him to discover it.

Yes.. that is correct. However there is always a downside to everything. Specially btc which is not regulated.

Yeah, maybe this decision a good or bad :)

I'm not sure that you should introduce your kids to Bitcoin until they become a technically smart citizens who can understand the core conept of Bitcoin.

21 year olds nowadays are just like 15 years old before. So, we need 30 years to get them to that state of mind.

Not all the kids are the same, some smart ones could be introduced to bitcoins even at 12 years.

When do you introduce them of your current local currency? Kids are smart they will just get it along you will use BTC.

As late as possible. I'd even prefer to talk with them after they've found out about BTC by themselves.

Yeah, it sounds bad, so I'll explain.
This area is completely unregulated. Here the scams are something usual. Also don't forget about gambling. All these are best to get in contact with as late as possible imo, when you start knowing human nature better, when you know some basics to protect yourself.

Not before 18 i say. I know they will be all into the gambling casinos and i don't want that.

Well actually the young entrepreneurs from Unesco
Had to admit that was pretty refreshing just shows that even young people can see its utility
https://www.youth-competition.org/

My daughter just turned 9 and she has the blockchain.info wallet app on her iphone.  I am still teaching her how to use it and how to properly secure coins.   I am just going to be sending her little bits at a time so that she can learn to guard it herself...

Good point, they won't use the bitcoins in the right way.

around the time you start to talk about money to them. Don't get them involved until they have realized the value of money. Knowing it exist and dealing with is 2 different things.

One good thing you can do, is to teach them how to code or find a way for them learn how to. Can be really useful in the era we live in

I first learned about BTC in 2009, I was 13  ;D

I didn't own any until last year though :D

As soon as they are old enough to start learning about money... that would be right after they can count to 10 or 20.
They don't have to learn and understand everything about bitcoin, just that you start teaching them that it is money and it is part of their vocabulary.

Our children run a booth at our farmer's market, and need to know how to add up totals and count back change.  Once they are 8 they should now how to do it.  By 10 years old, we (older siblings and parents) don't even watch them over their shoulder any more.  That is when they are old enough to learn Mycelium and send and receive bitcoin from a phone.

Last year, traveling with my 13 year old to his hockey game, we had dinner at a restaurant that took bitcoin.  He bought dinner for both of us with his bitcoin and did the whole transaction himself.  He had to explain and help the waiter a little.

The 13 year old, the year before, used to trade on Bitfloor.  He only traded modest amounts but doubled his 5 bitcoins.

A month later we went to the same restaurant with my 11 year old, who bought us dinner and paid for it with his bitcoin.

I think most kids are smarter than adults with technology, so teach them young, helping them for a while, then get out of their way.

13 is a very young age. How much did you earn until now?

I will not introduce bitcoin to him. I will let him discover it. That way, he will get interested himself.