I’ve managed to navigate the turbulent parenting seas for nearly 18 years, steering the S.S. Fatherhood around many icebergs piled high with the coolest gadgets and most popular toys. O Captain, My Captain, indeed!

Of course, my two daughters, like every child who has seen at least one commercial in their life, have coveted the various advertised goodies and expensive gadgets their friends have. But I’ve had a plan to avoid forking over wads of cash to buy all that stuff.

Strive To Be The Positive Change You Wish To See In Your Home

Telling my kids that we can’t buy every crazy-expensive gadget that casts a glint in their eye would carry no weight if I myself was a first adopter, always rushing to buy the latest tech of my dreams. Just as I started eating more veggies when I became a dad, I strive to be the positive change I wish to see in my world at home. For example, my phone is far from the latest model yet still takes darn good pictures. My laptop was refurbished when I bought it six years ago. And I’m the only person in the Western world who wasn’t pressured into buying a pressure cooker during that craze. I don’t just talk the talk, I walk the walk too — in old sneakers, usually.

My kids have seen and heard firsthand how to prioritize purchases, find common interests with friends outside of shopping and stuff, and achieve financial security during prosperous and tough times. Greenlight, a debit card and app that teaches children and their adults how to be financially responsible, has easy to understand education tools that help me preach the gospel of financial literacy. This reduces my anxiety about making sure they’re prepared for the economic side of adulthood. Sure, they aren’t always happy being stuck with the same stuff for longer than their friends, but they now realize that hundreds of dollars to replace perfectly fine devices or a new-ish pair of sneakers isn’t a smart way to spend money.

Teach Teens That Spending Is The Reward For Saving

I’m teaching my kids to keep their purchasing power in reserve for true ‘gamechanger’ gadgets and products — the stuff that moves the needle toward helping them live a better and/or more comfortable life. When we save, we aren’t simply putting money aside, we’re also stashing away excitement because spending is the reward for saving. When a truly remarkable piece of tech, clothing, or a toy does come along, we’ll have the money to go get it because we delayed gratification and worked toward something greater.

One of the ways I help my kids save money and manage their own spending budget so they can actually press ‘Purchase’ when the time is right, is through the nifty Greenlight money app. I set their allowances, it flows into their accounts automatically, and together we demystify the financial world while developing a healthy mindset for what’s available to spend, what should be saved, and how giving can play a role in their lives. Best of all, I can keep tabs on everything with ease, taking the guesswork out of this piece of the parenting journey.

With Helpful Tools, Teens Can Be Financially Successful

They say it takes a village to raise a child. So true, but it takes a small metropolis to raise a teenager! When it comes to making sense of the oft-confusing world of money and empowering us dads to teach important lessons about things we ourselves may not exactly be experts in, it helps to have modern tools at our fingertips. With Greenlight, I’m showing my teen daughters how to save for big-ticket items, avoid scary money matters like overdrawing their accounts, and invest in their long term futures, all while becoming financially literate thanks to the wealth of knowledge within the app’s educational content. Greenlight allows me to instill in my kids smart habits that literally pay dividends today and will set them up for success as adults with more complicated decisions to make about how to earn, save, invest and spend their money… and someday, how to convince their own kids that they don’t need the latest crazy-expensive, super cool gadgets!

And then the circle of financial life will be complete.

Greenlight is a brilliant tool that helps dads like you and me teach our kids how to earn, save, spend, give, and invest their money today and tomorrow, all within an easy-to-use app that is parent-controlled and safe.

The idea of unleashing your child into the digital world gives parents the same trepidation traditionally reserved for teaching a hormone-crazed teenager how to merge into rush hour traffic. Sure, the World Wide Web can be a scary place, but in a lot of ways, the experience is better than when we were kids. What we’ve lost in dial-up noises, we’ve gained in parental controls and strategies to make the online world a healthier environment for our kids.

You Control the World They Play In

There aren’t many phrases scarier for a parent than “in-app purchases available.” Thankfully, you can add layers of purchasing restrictions to make sure your kid doesn’t convert your life savings into video game currency.

Once you have your pocketbook protected, most apps and services also have filters you can apply to serve up only age-appropriate content. Video platforms get better every day at creating a digital world with training wheels for pre-teens. Most games restrict chat functions for younger kids so you don’t have to worry about strangers trying to make small talk with your second grader who simply wants to feed a pretend horse in an open-world environment.

Most importantly, keeping kids aware of your screen time rules — and enforcing them — will go a long way to keeping their digital habit a healthy one.

Today’s Parental Supervision Tools Are Next Level

Just as you want to know who your kid’s in-person friends are, you can monitor their early digital interactions to make sure they’re using the internet for good. Apps like Messenger Kids create a safer environment where kids can interact and play with their buddies while parents keep an eye on their whole experience.

Messaging apps are not only a great way for kids to stay connected with buddies outside of a classroom or play date, but they’re a solid introduction for kids to the digital world. They foster creativity by giving kids freedom in how they play and connect, while also aiding social and emotional development by helping kids stay in touch with friends and family members.

With Messenger Kids, you have your own separate Parent Dashboard that allows you to manage your kid’s contact list, set “off times” to enforce screen time limits, and check in on your child’s conversations, which is especially helpful with younger kids.

You’re Already Teaching Them What They Need To Know

Isolation and bullying are among the biggest dangers for teenagers growing up digitally. Actually, they’re some of the biggest problems of being a kid, period. But just as the digital world can intensify some of those issues, smart digital tools can also be part of the solution.

Many apps and platforms are joining the mission to educate and encourage positive behaviors in the digital realm. The Messenger Kids Pledge echoes the attitudes we want our kids to exhibit in real life: Be Kind, Be Respectful, Be Safe, and Have Fun. To help kids learn these behaviors and put them into practice, Messenger Kids’ new interactive Pledge Planets activity puts kids in charge of helping characters navigate social situations by using their digital citizenship skills. Messenger Kids’ interactive games also have report functions to help dramatically limit in-game bullying, while parental supervision tools let you monitor your kid’s online play.

Fortunately, there has never been more education and awareness in schools to combat issues like bullying. Those are the same values and lessons you’re instilling in your kids at home, both in-person and online.

Spending Time Online With Your Kid Can Be an Incredible Bonding Experience

Having an online kid doesn’t have to be scary — it can actually enhance your relationship. It’s something fun to do together. You don’t have to wait to throw a ball around the yard, you can destroy your fourth-grader in your favorite racing game. Meeting your kid on their level and gaming together, whether it’s a world-building game or a team-up-to-defend-the-world-from-zombies game, are memories they’ll carry forever. And it gives you a chance to model the behavior you expect from them online.

Also, an ongoing messaging relationship with your kid can bring you closer. Nothing cheers up the final quarter of your workday like your kid sending a GIF on Messenger Kids after they get home from school. Ask a child how school was, and they listlessly respond, “Fine.” Ask via text, and they might give you a whole breakdown of what’s going on — though it might be communicated with memes and emojis. Still, it adds a whole new dimension to your relationship. And you can’t ask for much more than that.

Messenger Kids is the video, voice, and messaging app designed for kids to connect with family and friends. Learn more by exploring messengerkids.com.