We've all done it. We have a young child or grandchild and we think, "Let me buy him/her an adorable little piggy bank that they'll love and feed, and then the child will grow up and understand the value of a penny saved is a penny earned."

It sounds good. It makes sense. It should work. But, it doesn't. Why not? Because piggy banks teach negative, dysfunctional and counter-productive money beliefs, that we just do not fully realize or comprehend until we're into our busy 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s and trying to raise a family.

Almost everywhere you go, you can hear parents say: "I want to start teaching my kids about money while they're young, so that maybe they'll grow up and avoid making the same mistakes I did, maybe they'll be both wealthy and grateful." It makes sense that teaching kids about money is on almost every parent's mind.

There are several money gurus for adults (Robert Kiyosaki - "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," David Ramsey - "Total Money Makeover", David Bach - "Automatic Millionaire," to name a few).