How to Explain Profit to a Child

Profit is the money left after a business pays for what it used. Put five coins on the table, move two away for lemons and cups, and let the child count the three coins that stay.

The stand collected five dollars. It did not get to keep five dollars. Money collected and money kept are two different numbers.

Profit for kids starts with what stayed

Ask one question: after we replace what we used, how much money stays?

1. Start with five coins. The lemonade stand collected five dollars from customers.
2. Name the cost. Two dollars paid for the lemons and cups used to make what was sold.
3. Move those two coins away. That money came in, but the business cannot keep it.
4. Count what remains. Three dollars stayed. That is the profit.
5. Change one number. Ask what happens if lemons cost three dollars or the stand collects only four.

Ask a different profit question at each age

1. Ages 3 to 6: Which coins pay for new lemons and cups? Which coins stay?
2. Ages 6 to 9: What changes if one bracelet costs more to make or sells for a different price?
3. Ages 9 to 12: Which choice leaves more money after every cost is paid?
4. Ages 12 and up: Where did every dollar go, and what should the business do with the profit next?

Choose the planned money book that fits next

A Dollar Has A Job lets ages 3 to 6 move and color the coins. Mia Sells Bracelets gives ages 6 to 9 a price choice and a simple record to fill in. Your First Hundred Dollars asks ages 12 and up to account for every dollar in a real project with an adult involved.

Use the Profit entry in the Crayon Glossary when the child is ready to connect the activity to the grown-up word.