Why Piggy Banks Are Essential For Teaching Monetary Responsibilty
Posted on May 5, 2010Piggy banks have long been recognized as a wonderful way to introduce young children to the concepts of monetary responsibility and independence. Their fun shapes genuinely strike an emotional chord with kids, making saving dollars a fun activity instead of the chore it usually is for adults! Also known as a penny bank or a money box, piggy banks actually appear to have an ancient history, familiar to diverse cultures the world over.
They did not seem to have taken on the now-traditional porcine shape, however, until medieval times, when, allegedly, the Middle English word for a certain kind of clay, “pygg,” which was commonly utilised to make several containers, became associated with the household money box. From there, the spelling changed, until, the legend goes, we have the familiar piggy bank of today.
Modern piggy banks are generally made of plastic, and have a hole at the bottom (namely, the belly) that is normally plugged or otherwise covered for access to the savings, normally coins. Traditionally, piggy banks had been ceramic with only a slit for the deposit of money, and it had been something of a rite of passage to literally break them open upon coming of age or some other similarly momentous circumstance.
These days, most piggies allow much simpler retrieval, some featuring removable noses for withdrawal. The most modern types even have electronic counters which keep track of savings. Quite a few other animal shapes have also become obtainable, though the generic term “piggy bank” is generally still used by way of reference.
The piggy bank is so familiar nowadays that several monetary services businesses incorporate one into their advertising or even their corporate logo. Piggy banks have also become highly collectible items in themselves, with a wide variety of relatively costly makes and models that exist far more for aesthetic pleasure than to teach any lesson in thrift!
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