Irshad Mushtaq
Every parent in Kashmir wants a bright future for his or her children. We want them to study well, earn respect, get good opportunities, and live a secure life. Education is therefore a priority in almost every home. Parents spend on school fees, tuition, coaching, books, and professional courses because they believe education can change the future of the family.
This belief is right—but incomplete.
Education is necessary, but a degree by itself does not teach a child how a household runs, how money is earned, why businesses face losses, how customers are retained, or why parents worry about expenses. A child needs formal education as well as practical understanding. The real challenge for Kashmiri parents is not to choose between studies and business exposure. The challenge is to give children both, in the right balance.
Children Must See the Struggle
A child usually sees the comfort created by parents: food on the table, school fees, clothing, a phone, transport,t and other facilities. But he may not see the struggle behind these things.
A father may leave home early, open a shop, travel for work, manage a small business, attend clients, deal with suppliers or work in an office for long hours. He may face delayed payments, rising costs, rent, staff salaries, loan instalments and uncertain income. A mother may also contribute through employment, a home-based business, farming, savings decisions or the management of household finances.
When children remain unaware of this effort, they may assume that money comes easily. They may demand expensive items without understanding the family’s situation. They may waste money, avoid responsibility, and become dependent on parents for every decision.
But when children observe the hard work behind income, they develop respect. They understand that business is not just opening a shop or owning an office. It involves planning, risk, discipline, trust, and patience.
For instance, a young child may think that a shop owner earns money every day because customers come in. But if the child learns that the shopkeeper must first purchase stock, pay rent, bear electricity costs, and sometimes wait months for payments, he understands the difference between sales and actual profit. That one lesson can shape a more responsible future.
The Right Time to Start
There is no fixed age that fits every child. Parents must consider maturity, health, interest, and academic workload. However, practical learning can begin with small responsibilities much earlier than we normally think.
Between the ages of 8 and 12, children can learn simple habits. They can be given limited pocket money and encouraged to save part of it. Parents can explain the difference between “I need this” and “I want this.” A child can be taught that a school bag, books, and medicines are needs, while every new toy or expensive item may not be necessary.
From age 13 to 15, children can begin understanding household expenses. They can accompany parents to the market, compare prices, and learn why a family cannot always buy the most expensive product. They can keep a small notebook of daily spending or help calculate basic monthly expenses.
The age of 16 to 18 is especially useful for practical exposure. At this stage, a student can visit the workplace occasionally, observe how customers are treated, and understand basic bills, digital payments, stock, delivery, and record-keeping. This should happen during holidays, weekends or limited free time—not at the cost of education.
After 18, young people can be given a small independent assignment. They can help create a social-media page for the business, study customer feedback, manage a small product category, improve online visibility, or learn basic accounting. The responsibility should be real but manageable.
This is not child labour. It is preparation for adult life.
Why Kashmir Must Rethink
Kashmir has many educated young people, yet employment remains a major concern. More than 3.61 lakh educated youth were registered as unemployed in Jammu and Kashmir by September 2025. This figure should not discourage education; it should remind us that degrees must be joined with skills, enterprise and financial confidence.
The issue is not that our youth lack talent. The issue is that many are trained only to search for opportunities, not to understand how opportunities are created.
Financial awareness is also weak across India. SEBI’s Investor Survey 2025 found that 63 percent of households knew about at least one market product such as mutual funds, shares, bonds, or ETFs. But only 9.5 percent actually participated in securities markets. This large difference shows that hearing financial words is very different from understanding them.
A child who learns about saving, budgeting, banking and risk from an early age is less likely to make careless decisions later. He or she will better understand loans, insurance, investments and the dangers of fraud or quick-money schemes.
Lessons From Successful Families
Around the world, successful business families do not wait until their children are adults before introducing them to responsibility. They do not force every child to join the business, but they make sure every child understands the family’s values, work culture and source of income.
In Japan, business succession is taken seriously because small and medium enterprises are important to the economy. Japan’s official small-business policy has emphasised early succession planning, conversations with potential successors and sharing management information so that a valuable business does not collapse when the older generation retires.
In many Chinese business families, the next generation is introduced not only to the existing enterprise but also to new opportunities. Rather than merely inheriting a business, younger members are encouraged to create new products, adopt technology and expand into new areas. This approach treats succession as entrepreneurship, not simply the transfer of property.
A useful lesson also comes from structured family-business programmes in the United Kingdom. Some families begin next-generation exposure around age 14 through summer work, workplace visits, mentorship, training and discussions about ownership. These programmes do not replace school education; they help young people understand the demands and responsibilities of enterprise.
The principle is clear: children should not inherit only assets. They should inherit capability.
Give Daughters Equal Exposure
Financial education must be for both boys and girls. In many homes, sons are included in money and business discussions while daughters are kept away. This is a mistake.
Every daughter should know how to open and use a bank account, understand a budget, recognise a loan obligation, read a document, identify financial fraud and participate in family decisions. Financial confidence gives daughters independence, security and the ability to contribute meaningfully to the family.
A family becomes stronger when all its children understand money and responsibility.
Conclusion
Kashmir needs children who are educated, skilled, responsible and financially aware. We must continue to value schools, colleges and professional education. But we must also allow children to see the hard work behind the family’s income.
Start with small lessons. Teach saving before spending. Explain that business involves risk. Let teenagers observe work with dignity. Give older children limited responsibility and guide them when they make mistakes.
The greatest inheritance is not a shop, orchard, office, property, or bank balance. It is the ability to earn honestly, make wise decisions, manage money and carry forward the hard work of one’s parents.