Teaching young children to be money smart is usually a pretty simple lesson, if you can take the time to explain the concepts of money in kid’s terms. Let’s face facts, there are plenty of adults who have not a clue as the the idea of money management, so to expect an 8 year old to hang a poster of Warren Buffet in his bedroom is a stretch. Children seem to learn best with simple concepts and visualization aids, so playing to their strengths when attempting a money lesson will enable a better grasp of the money lesson content on their part. The worst thing you can do when attempting to teach children about money is to get too fancy, stick to the basics, let the debt to equity ratio formats wait until they are in graduate school.
A simple and good place to start in teaching children to be money smart is in the concept of banks and interest. This can be presented to them visually, using pennies to cement the lesson in their young minds. Place one hundred pennies on a table and place 3 pennies to the side. Explain to kids that the three pennies are interest, and in they leave 100 pennies in the bank for a year, they get the 3 pennies as interest. You can use this example to show how the "interest" pennies accumulate over 5 years or so, and can even get into the concept of compound interest if you desire and have the patience. This is a great way to get kids to understand one of the benefits of saving, and even to a lesser degree, investing.
Another excellent way to teach young children to be money smart is to discuss and explain the need to save as part of a regular routine. This can be as simple as putting a small amount of money aside in saving on a weekly or monthly basis, for a specific purpose in mind. It could be your child is saving for a desired item they wish to purchase or just as a "rainy day" fund for emergencies. In whatever case, explain that financial surprises pop up in life that can be remedied only with money, and if you do not have any there is certain to be a difficult situation that follows.
Finally, you can teach young children to be money smart by making them earn whatever money they get. Money always seems more precious and guarded by those who have to exert an effort to obtain it, and children are no exception in this area. The most important lesson you can teach young children to be money smart is to teach them to live within their means, to spend less than they make or earn, and to save. These lessons last a lifetime, and will make your child a responsible adult.