If you cannot consistently outperform the market then you and your children would be better off buying and holding index ETFs.

We all know how to trade...we just don't necessarily know how to connect the dots and see our trades in a market context.

For instance, the purchase of an automobile. You are purchasing an asset over a short or maybe a long term time frame -- who knows? It's a position trade, if you care to look at it that way.

I guess you have to ask yourself whether you will do more harm than good if you teach your children what you know.

Within what timeframe?

While he was alive I defined myself as a contrarian to what my father taught me about most things. Whatever he taught I was going to do the opposite.

And it was only well into my fifties, after he was dead, that I began to realize the value of some of the things he taught me. Incredibly important things that I am now very fortunate that he passed along.

That is much to old to start to teach a child... as teenagers they would not listen to you. Just think back to when you were that young.

I would start at 6 years old.... not trading stocks but money management in general. That is what I did with my boy.

At 6 years old he always had a little bit of money from relatives, me and his mother though throughout his life I only ever gave him $1/week allowance (he was 6 in 1988).

As I was a traveling industrial salesman back then I was usually away during the week and he was my responsibility on weekends. I did my banking on Saturdays and took him with me since he was 2 years old. At 6 years old I opened a kiddie account for him and the DEAL WAS that I would match any money he put into the bank... he put in $1 of his own money I would match it for a total of $2 (when he was about 8 he got $40 for Christmas and tried to deposit it and I refused to match it... he negotiated $10 and I agreed and that was the deposit for the next 4 weeks... so he learned negotiation that way )

Each month we took his passbook and with my money jar we would show how much "free money" he earned for that month in pennies... this lead to buying a GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) as he reached $500 at age 8 with me taking him in to meet my personal banker. At 10 years old when he reached that level again it was time to buy another certificate... "I want to do it myself dad?" ...ok... I had the same personal banker then and she had big smile as she brought me the final paperwork to sign as well.

At 12 it was no longer cool to be with your dad but I walked in to the bank and the teller told me my son was in the previous day... I nodded and she said "You know, we don't get many 12 year olds making investment decisions" she said (he had bought another GIC on his own)... At 15 he had a bank account of $7000 and had to pretend to be poor to his friends, he was working in a grocery store as a checkout clerk at 16... at 18 he worked part time as a concierge at a hotel.

Every purchase he made...I only paid 1/2... including his education. I did that so he had skin in the game and would know that life was not a freebie.

At 19 he knew I was getting involved in Stocks. He showed some interest and did a little trading himself but nothing serious. Now as a married person he does some trading, the extent of which I am not certain. We discuss it a little but his approach is different from mine and that is fine.... I get the impression it is not serious though.

My point is that it is important to teach your child about money at a very young age... not wait til they are teens. When they are 6 years old they are approachable and want to copy you.... as teens they don't think you know what you are doing and won't listen to you.

I have a grandson at 2 years old... I hope my son does the same with him.

This is very similar to what my parents did with me. I would go to the bank with my mom on the weekends to get the free donuts. Or so i thought as a 5 year old. I got my first pass book at about 7 or 8. I would still continue to go and put half my allowance or any spare change i had. I used to get 5 cents for killing any flies or mosquitos in my grandmothers house.

I got 10 Disney stock certificates when i was 10 as a birthday present. I remember how much i liked them because they had mickey mouse on it. I immediately put them in the family safe. I was so happy to have something worth putting in the safe. I did not completely understand stocks. At the time and i just liked all things disney.

My dad asked me do i like disney? What do they do well? What is your favorite thing about disney? Of course i said Disneyland, toys and movies. Which i suppose looking at it now. It was almost like fundamental analysis for a 10 year old.

I have say that both lessons were very important for me. I would definitely teach my kids the same way.