When they are 18 years old, let them choose their own path in life. We get old, can’t always be there for them.
Before 18 years old, there are better things to learn and do. Moral values, critical thinking, accumulate general knowledge, academia. Physical sports or mind sports. Parent child bonding.
If you are not teaching your kids, someone else will fill that gap.
I see references from child psychology and quotes from psychologists to support differing individual opinions on what one should do with their kids.
Being a practicing integrative physician, psychiatrist with interest in psychotherapy, I know a bit about child psychology. But I do know a whole lot more about many other things as well (DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT know all). And that’s what makes me think that this particular question doesn’t warrant a psychological context to generalize a resulting inference for masses. For a particular child or a particular family! maybe.
This is more about your comfort zone as a parent based on your own upbringing, exposure to risk/comfort/failure/hardship in life etc etc. And then there’s that fact you can learn two ways. You either learn how to swim first in theory, and then gradually with practice. Or you just get thrown in deep end, with help of course. I learnt to swim the latter way, and I went from no swimming to swimming in deep waters in 3 days. So there’s that.
I do not prefer the graded exposure approach or trial versions. I prefer starting the adventure as a novice and learning hard and soft lessons defining my subsequent course in any skill. So if I am going to expose my children to same, I definitely will ensure the skills they will require to help them make define and reflect on smarter choices.
What the doctors and psychologists prescribe should be taken as a guideline only, not a script for literal indoctrination. Interpret them, don’t blindly follow them. After all, even Newton was wrong about his physics in many ways same as Sigmund Freud is in his description of human psychology. This is despite the fact that I absolutely adore Sigmund Freud for his contribution to psychology.
As for the crux of question. Should your pre-teen or teenage child learn to trade forex. Yes absolutely. A 10 yr old child from countries like China and India can easily give a 10 yr old from western countries a run for their money because of exactly this level of shielding from real life exposure. Funny that’s gradually changing as our western psychology is becoming fashionable in urban third world as well, not for sound reasons but because its western, sounds good and is elitist. Now I am not debating on which is a better model for raising children etc as that’s not the debate. Simply that you want your child to remain tuned in with the real world, let them feel the real world from AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE however harsh it is. The younger the age they begin at, the more innovative they can get in tackling life problems because they can look and interpret situations differently.
My 10 yr old son has been running a demo MT4 for 2 yrs now. He is very responsible with his money. He has learnt already himself that on a 4 hr chart on a currency pair, if he sees price high on the screen, he shorts it for a 10-20 pip profit. Of course that’s a simplistic view but I can’t be more proud of his first trading strategy he devised himself and its been making him profits mostly. I think him taking this to gambling etc will be a reflection on my abilities to not being able to monitor how he is conducting himself and I do keep an eye on that. If you have limited or no contribution in how your child shapes new experiences and uses them then yes there’s a reason to be concerned for letting a child trade forex with no supervision. But if he is sitting next to you on his ipad while you’re looking at your trading terminal. You’ll be surprised how a 10 yr old can surprise you with queries that you never thought existed.
I think it is great that your child is learning at an early age to understand risk on - risk off, management. As in Mr. Kesuke Miyagi fame.
