I’ve never met a parent who dreams her child will grow up to be lazy, irresponsible and greedy. That would be crazy!

Of course, moms and dads want their children to become productive, responsible and generous adults. The problem is, those traits don’t just magically appear over time. Financial wisdom is something you learn, not something you’re born with.

A year ago, we posted a three-part series on Christian family finance, including defining your family’s treasure, establishing a heritage of giving and budgeting as a family. Feel free to check out those posts if you missed them.

In the meantime, here are five keys to teaching children to be the kind of generous, content, financially free individuals you pray they’ll become.

Actually Talk About it

Sound obvious? For many families, it isn’t.

Some children grow up in households where money is practically a dirty word. I get it. Personal finance is, well…personal. But if you never address money issues with your children, how are they supposed to learn?

Let the Bible be Your Guide

You don’t have to do this alone. In fact, don’t try to.

The Bible is chock-full of financial wisdom. Read it to educate yourself about how God sees money. Then read it with your kids.

If they’re too young to understand long passages of Scripture, start with a line or two from the book of Proverbs. For example, “Farmers who work their land have plenty of food, but those who waste their time on worthless projects are foolish” (Proverbs 12:11, ERV). That verse was taken from the Easy-to-Read Version of the Bible—one of several kid-friendly translations available.

Whichever versions or verses you choose, just make sure your children know the Bible is a practical, truthful foundation for dealing with money. If they see you turning to biblical wisdom, there’s a greater chance they’ll do the same once they grow up.

Make it Hands-on

Kids learn by doing. You can talk about money until you’re blue in the face, but if you don’t give your children a chance to try it out, you’ll quickly lose their attention.

Monopoly money makes for a good hands-on teaching tool, but you’ll eventually need to work with the real stuff. Dave Ramsey advises parents to give kids “a commission, not an allowance.” A commission encourages children to earn money. An allowance is a free handout. Once they’re old enough to help out with chores around the house, start teaching your kids to earn a commission. The idea here is to instill a basic but incredibly important value: Work = money. No work = no money.

But don’t stop there. With the money they earn, teach your kids to give, spend and save. The earlier your children learn to balance those three aspects of financial health, the better off they’ll be.

Let Them Make Some (Small) Mistakes

With the money they earn, teach your kids to give, spend and save.

But here’s the hard part: If she misses the deadline, resist the urge to swoop in and buy the toy anyway.

By always coming to the rescue, you’re teaching her that it’s OK to be a little irresponsible, because someone else will pick up the slack. If you let her make the mistake and miss the goal, she’ll probably learn a lot more. You can always set a new goal and help her get a fresh start.

Be Open

This one is going to look a little different for everyone. The bottom line is to let your kids in on your financial philosophy and goals to whatever extent you’re comfortable with.

I’m not saying to go over your bi-weekly 401(K) contributions or your stock portfolio with your eight-year-old. I am saying to let your eight-year-old know that you have a retirement plan and explain why that’s a wise move. I’m not saying to disclose the exact amount of debt you’re in. I am saying to tell your children what debt is, why it’s a problem and why you’re working hard to get rid of it.

Growing up, I knew very little about my parents’ financial situation. I just knew there was a lot of stress and a fair amount of arguing. And I’m pretty sure that as a young adult, I made some of the exact same financial blunders as they did. If you can spare your child some heartache by helping him learn from your mistakes, don’t you want to do so? It may be a little uncomfortable to talk about, but an honest conversation could change your child’s financial future for the better.

While the Bible has a lot to say about money, it also has plenty to say about pride. Pray that God will help melt away any pride that’s acting as a wall between you and your kids.

It isn’t easy talking to kids about money, but the payoff is great. You may or may not be able to leave behind a stash of financial wealth for your kids. But if you teach them how to use money correctly, you can leave behind much more than that—a legacy of financial peace.