MANSFIELD — Teana Sykes said she thinks children understand “anything that you’re willing to teach them.”
The mother of four remembers explaining how debit cards work to her 9-year-old daughter.
“We were buying food and she said ‘well, just give them that card’ to get something else she wanted,” Sykes said. “So I said that the card isn’t magic, it’s tied to our account and our money goes down until we get paid again.”
Sykes has authored three children’s books with financial literacy themes: “Squad Goals,” “Bro Code” and “Money Makers in the Making.” Her goal is to teach kids how to earn and manage money.
“They’re really never too young,” she said. “When they start counting, that’s a great time to introduce a piggy bank.”
“Squad Goals” and “Bro Code” have coloring pages, self-affirming word searches and prayer guides made for children ages 6 to 12.
“Money Makers in the Making” is a narrative story written for kids in grades 4-6. The book follows a group of middle school students as they learn concepts like different types of income and the foundational skills of being an entrepreneur.
Sykes released “Money Makers in the Making” in June 2024. Her 13-year-old daughter came up with the title.
“I think understanding these concepts are the key to financial independence,” Sykes said. “The activities are all about trading their time for money. My oldest at home wanted an iPad for her 12th birthday, so she saved her birthday money and did some extra chores.
“When she had the money to get an iPad, she said she liked her Kindle just as well, and she didn’t want to spend all the money she earned on one thing.”
Tea Talk: Where financial tea is served
Sykes has a degree in actuarial science from The Ohio State University, and said she has always been someone people turn to for financial advice.
The Mansfield native started “Tea Talk” during the COVID-19 pandemic, live streaming discussions of financial literacy and responses to questions for about an hour each week.
“I talked about credit, I talked about student loans, budgeting — I was blown away by the amount of participation,” she said.
“A lot of people probably have the goal to buy a house, but they don’t think about building up credit until they want to buy one now. If you open a credit card when you’re young, you pay your rent and utility bills early and all that — then that gives you leverage for your goal down the line.”
Sykes also created an interactive game “Secure the Bag” that has taken her as far as the Philadelphia African American Museum to present. She has also taken the game and other presentations to local organizations and camps, including Mansfield City Schools’ “GEAR UP” financial literacy course.
Sykes to organize book signing in Mansfield
Sykes offers activities for children and adults to better understand financial literacy.
“I think there can be some hesitation among parents sharing financial terms with their kids because they don’t want to burden them — we want them to be childlike as long as possible,” she said.
“But I think there’s power in telling your child, ‘I know you want this and you deserve it, but it’s not in the budget right this minute.’ Then, you can work together on how they can earn money to buy what they want or the tradeoffs you need to make as a family.”
Sykes said she wants to organize a book signing in Mansfield for her children’s books.
“Money Makers in the Making,” as well as “Squad Goals” and “Bro Code” are available on Amazon.
Any person or business interested in sponsoring a classroom or a bulk order of books can contact Sykes at teatalk.teana@gmail.com and learn more at getteatalk.com.
