Interviews

It helped a lot to give them digital banks, where they put the coins in the jar and it totals the amount for them. Now I take them to the store and show them that the money they have in their banks' isn't enough to pay for our groceries...Mom with 5 year old son

Through directed storytelling and bricks and mortar observation, we studied how kids spend their money and how their parents control their money. We noted that parents want their children to understand the value of a dollar and to instill the concept of saving into the child's financial value system. Kids, on the other hand, want stuff. They want all kinds of stuff and they want it now. If they can't have it now they want to know exactly what they need to get it and when they're going to get it. Kids like to have control over their money, but often make mistakes. They're kids after all. Parents want their kids to be happy, and part of that is making sure they learn from their mistakes.

Competitive Analysis

Financial Websites, Kids Websites, Kids Financial Websites?

Through competitive analysis we learned how websites like to appeal to kids. Websites for kids are colorful and customizable with fun characters. We also found that kids like to have connections in the physical world to their virtual play. Kids like to do adult things in a child-like environment, such as the way kids decorate houses for animal characters on Webkinz.