Every day, my kids are showing me some sort of new song or game they found on Youtube.  They’re all about videos and apps right now, and I’ll be honest, it’s kind of annoying.

I don’t like my kids being on electronics all day.  Their brains are still developing, and I want them to learn valuable skills that they can take with them when they become adults.  That’s why, usually, when they really want to show me something on the iPad, I watch reluctantly.  But this time was different.

My son was telling me about “futuristic toys”. I said, “oh boy, here we go!”. But at least it was toys and not some dude dressed up and singing like an idiot.

He showed me the video, and I watched.  And I said out loud, my husband sitting next to us, “wow…that’s actually pretty cool!”.  It almost looked like a GoFundMe campaign rather than an ad or ‘toy of the future’ pitch.  I showed my husband the video, and we Googled. Don’t you know, it’s a real product that is available right now!

It’s a product called Wiggy.  It’s a piggy bank that interacts with the app that you need to download onto a tablet or phone.  It has a parent side and a kids side, and basically what it does is allow the parent to come up with “tasks” or “chores” for the kid to do, setting a monetary prize or “allowance”.  The kids go and do the chore, and when they’re done they check it off the list on the app.  The parent then assures that the task is done, enters their “parent code”, and transfers the allowance to their kids’ Wiggy Bank account.

The coolest part? The physical piggy bank that you get (yes it’s a real piggy bank!) Will tell your child how much money they have in their “savings”.

The app also lets the child set a goal.  For example, and I’ll use the example that they had on the video, if a child really wants a new bike, they can put the amount of the bike that they need to raise in the app, and set it as a goal.

Why is Wiggy important?  It’s more than just a toy or allowance app.  With online banking these days, it teaches your child how to treat money that they can’t physically see, and how to understand that it is still real money. It teaches them the power of saving, and how to work for the things they want.

I’m so excited to try Wiggy out for myself!  I think it’s going to be a hit in our household, and I know that it will be in yours too!