According to the American Banker’s Association, the current economic crisis is providing parents and others a great opportunity to teach kids about money. With money matters in the news every night, it’s a wonderful time to encourage kids to develop financial literacy. Kids’ gifts can be fun and financially educational. Check out these great options to teach kids about money, and promote savvy saving and spending habits.

Electronic Piggy Banks

Kids will love to watch their money grow in these high tech versions of the classic piggy bank you may have had as a kid. Digital piggy banks keep track of the increasing balance as coins are deposited.

Pretend Checkbooks

Kids love to play grown-up. Fake checkbooks are great for letting children practice filling out faux checks, making payments and calculating their balance. This provides hours of fun and a great education in managing a checking account.

Play Cash Registers

What kid doesn’t like to play store? Pretend cash registers bring transactions to life with interactive cash management. Even parents will have fun with the lights, sounds and voice messages on new models. The most fun come with a built-in scanner, scale, and coin slot.

Financial Board Games

There’s so much more than Monopoly! Financial board games incorporate the concepts of earning, spending, planning ahead and the value of real estate. These are basic money skills kids will use for the rest of their lives.

Pretend ATMs

Here’s something I never would have imagined as a child. Toy ATMs work just like their real counterparts, complete with an electronic bill feeder and mechanisms to recognize coins. They also allow youngsters to enter a secret pin number.

Books About Money

"Rock, Brock and the Savings Shock" was written by Sheila Bair, chairman of the FDIC. It’s the story of two twin boys who, given an opportunity to make extra money, notice the difference in their money personalities.

"Arthur's Funny Money" by Lillian Hoben details Arthur's attempt to earn money to make a special purchase.

Gift Cards

This is an easy option for parents and a great way to teach kids the value of things they want. Kids will have to budget carefully and prioritize their desires to get the things they want within the constraints of the gift card balance. It’s also a great way to teach kids about the added expense of sales tax!

And don’t forget the chocolate coins! You can count them – right before you peel them open and eat them!