Although you want your children to become financially and psychologically independent — and to do well in life — it's also important to teach them that success is not measured by the amount of money you make, or by consumption. If you want your children to develop positive values, teach them to measure their success by these standards:

• How they feel about themselves.

• Whether they are achieving the goals that are most important to them.

• How they operate in the world.

• The values they hold.

• How they support and encourage those around them.

• Their passion for the work they do and the life they live.

If you teach your children to measure their worth in terms of the security and happiness they generate for themselves and those around them, and teach them savvy money-management skills, they will live a wealthy life — rich with promise, dreams, and fulfillment of their dreams.

If you want them to be wealthy, teach them to constantly ask themselves some deep questions. Are they are growing, learning, exploring, and enjoying life? Are they more focused on feeding their souls than feeding their piggy banks? Are they responsible citizens who manage their lives well and contribute to society? If they can answer with a resounding “yes,” they will be on the right track because these practices will create true wealth.

It is also very important to teach children how to earn, manage, save, intelligently spend, and invest money. Rather than teaching them to become top-notch consumers, why not teach them to become investment-savvy owners? Even a young child can understand that owning a piece of FAO Schwartz will make her richer than buying toys. You can order a stock certificate and have it framed for her so that she can show their friends that she owns a piece of the rock.

Imagine what savvy investors your children could become if they learned this simple lesson early in life, and perhaps developed a passion for ownership. Do you want your children to have a house overflowing with possessions, or do you want them to have a portfolio of investments that will secure their future? Be part of the solution, and give them a head start on life and wealth.

As they mature, maximize opportunities to teach your children invaluable lessons about the stock market, mutual funds, IRA accounts, employer-sponsored retirement accounts, and other long-term investments — bonds, houses, and income property, for example — as well as the processes of reinvesting dividends and monitoring growth. Some mutual funds companies offer “young-investor” funds that offer opportunities for children to save, invest, and learn how to handle money and make smart investments.

Also snag opportunities to teach your children how to start and run their own businesses. Start with a lemonade stand and have them figure out how much it will cost to buy the lemonade mix, paper cups, and marketing materials, such as magic markers and posters. Then help them decide what they have to sell each cup for to earn a profit.

As they grow, you can go more in-depth with the projects and the execution — teaching them about product development, planning, labor and material costs, and how to earn a profit. Making beaded jewelry, stationery, or woven string bracelets that they market through a handcrafted stand parked at the edge of your driveway can result in profit and confidence.

Starting a mowing business, taking on a paper route, or conducting garage sales are all jobs that can teach your children useful skills. Grab any opportunity to use real situations to broaden their understanding. And always encourage them to think outside the box — you'll be amazed at how quickly they formulate ideas and get excited about them.

This kind of creativity will foster their development on many levels, giving them an edge in deciding what interests them, what their natural talents are, what needs to be done to earn a living, how they want to spend their days, and what skills they need to develop to succeed at their chosen profession. Guide them, but also allow them to experience the trials and tribulations, the successes and the failures. Teach them the value of seeing money as a commodity that they can use to invest in their own futures, and increasingly hand over the financial reins as they grow.