Picture a three-legged stool. Each leg supports the structure, ensuring balance and stability. Remove one leg, and the stool topples. Similarly, your child’s development rests on three critical milestones: building character, developing confidence, and understanding how money works. These elements don’t just prepare kids for success—they equip them to thrive in a complex, ever-changing world.
But here’s the challenge: these three skills are often taught in isolation.
Experts in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) focus on emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and empathy but rarely discuss how these skills connect to financial literacy or the confidence that comes from understanding how the world works.
Confidence-building programs emphasize self-belief but often overlook the importance of strong character or the empowerment that comes from understanding how money shapes society.
Financial education tends to focus on technical skills, like saving and budgeting, without addressing the emotional and social components needed to make sound decisions.
The problem? When taught separately, these skills leave gaps in a child’s preparedness for real-world challenges. Children need a holistic approach that weaves together character, confidence, and financial literacy into a unified framework. Here’s why—and how—you can help your child build all three. I call it the Strong Start Success Path.
First Milestone: Building Character
Building character is the cornerstone of your child’s development. It includes traits like honesty, integrity, perseverance, and emotional intelligence—qualities that shape how they approach life and interact with others.
This is where Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) becomes invaluable. SEL gives kids the tools to:
Understand their emotions: Recognizing and naming feelings builds self-awareness.
Manage emotions and behaviors: Handling stress and acting with self-control helps them adapt to challenges.
Cultivate empathy and relationships: Seeing the world through others’ eyes fosters connection and kindness.
A 52-year longitudinal study from New Zealand revealed that children exhibiting high emotional intelligence (EQ)—characterized by discipline, empathy, and emotional regulation—were more likely to achieve financial success in adulthood.
When children build character through SEL, they’re not just prepared to handle setbacks—they’re equipped to approach life with integrity and purpose.
Second Milestone: Developing Confidence
Confidence isn’t just about believing in yourself—it’s about knowing you can make a difference in the world. This milestone builds on character by fostering a sense of self-belief and purpose while cultivating an awareness of others and the broader community.
SEL plays a key role here too. It teaches children to empathize with others and engage meaningfully with the world around them. Confidence flourishes when kids experience their ability to make a positive impact.
But here’s the key: confidence doesn’t come from one big, defining moment. It’s built through consistent small acts, day by day. Whether it’s helping a friend, completing a challenging task, or learning something new, each small victory reinforces a child’s belief in their own capabilities.
Confidence comes from:
Recognizing personal strengths.
Learning to face setbacks, persevere, and keep trying despite difficulties.
Experiencing the satisfaction of helping others or contributing to a bigger goal.
A confident child sees challenges as opportunities, not obstacles, and approaches life with courage and determination.
Third Milestone: Understanding How Money Works
The final leg of the stool is financial literacy, but it’s about much more than saving pennies in a piggy bank. True financial literacy involves understanding the big picture of how money works and how it influences our world.
Key concepts include:
What is money? Exploring its role as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a measure of worth.
How does the economy function? Understanding concepts like inflation, supply and demand, and how resources are allocated.
What are the implications of our monetary system? Discussing the difference between centralized and decentralized systems and how they affect individuals and societies.
The importance of financial literacy cannot be overstated. A survey shows that more than 2 in 5 high school students (42%) express concern about their financial future.
Teaching children how money works empowers them to think critically about their choices and navigate life with independence and confidence.
The Three-Legged Stool: Why All Three Milestones Matter
Each leg of the stool supports the others. Building character gives children the emotional foundation to persevere. Developing confidence motivates them to take action and engage with the world. Understanding how money works equips them with the knowledge to make informed decisions in a complex system.
Take away any one of these elements, and the balance is lost. Together, they create a comprehensive foundation for children to thrive.
Taking Action: Start with the Hero Journal Challenge
The 7-Day Hero Journal Challenge is a powerful way to start working on these three milestones with your child. Through daily reflections on acts of kindness, bravery, and thoughtful decision-making, the challenge helps children build character, grow their confidence through small consistent acts, and begin thinking critically about their role in the world.
This simple, family-friendly activity is the perfect first step toward laying the foundation for a lifetime of success.
Join the challenge today to help your child start building the three-legged stool of success.
Why This Matters
Raising children to thrive doesn’t require perfection—it requires intention. By focusing on character, confidence, and an understanding of how money works, you’re giving them tools that will serve them for a lifetime.
This holistic approach doesn’t just prepare kids to survive—it equips them to flourish, adapt, and lead in an ever-changing world. Let’s build the stool together—one leg at a time.
Share this article with your friends and family to spread the word about these three essential components of success—because every child deserves a strong foundation.