Financially stable children

I just finished reading a great article about ways to teach your children how to be comfortable with money so they will use it wisely when they are young adults. My mom helped me open a savings account when I was a child but all I remember about it is asking to get money out to do the things I wanted to do such as go to the movies with friends (she always said no haha). Rylan has grasped the concept at 4 that he needs to do 3 things with his money. He has 3 jars, one for saving, you can't see in this one it's a typical bank, one for spending, we used a mason jar so he can see if he possibly has enough to buy something he wants, and one for donating, this one is a pot that you might plant flowers in. If I give him money for let's say having exceptionally good manners or getting a special note home from school about good behavior (he gets money for those things because I told him that right now that is his "job" to be good etc.) or if he does a chore for example feeding the cat without being asked,
 I give him multiple coins so he can distribute them equally or sometimes one extra because that one always goes in savings. I think it teaches him that you do not always get instant gratification, sometimes you have to wait for things you want. He likes it and if he knows we are going to a store he will ask if we can count his spending money, he also is always checking the ground for lost coins. My point here is that I want to start to teach him about money now and not later. This article suggested giving an allowance under 9 I'm not sure I would be consistent enough to put this offer on the table right now so maybe in a few years since I have until 9. Then (this was my favorite part) it suggested at age 9-12 "gift" one share of a stock of their choice to them. So coca-cola maybe or walt Disney, you get the idea but these type of stocks (from what they say) cost between 30.00 and 70.00 so it's not a giant commitment. Then teach your child how to log on and monitor the price online. Also at this age do as my mom did, let them open a savings account, go with them but let them fill out the paperwork so they can begin to feel comfortable dealing with financial institutions and the procedures. Age 13-15 after they have saved 100.00 from their allowance open a custodial brokerage account and invest in an S&P 500 index fund and then review the monthly statement together. I think I would be comfortable with the next but I think some people wouldn't be, it suggests reviewing one of your own investment portfolios together so you can show what choices you have made and what that caused your money to do, grow or shrink. Age 16-18 arrange a meeting between your teen and an adult "expert" such as a grandparent or friend or colleague who knows their way around the market and ask them if they would be willing to mentor your teen on his or her portfolio semi-regularly (I am pretty sure I know who I'll be making this phone call to in about 12 years!)
Another thing I know I will do is teach Rylan about living in the real world, alone, financially. I'll sit with him when he thinks he is ready to start looking to move out. I'll give him cash for a paycheck (real money without the paycheck just because visual makes the biggest impact I think) then I will have him call around and check rent prices. He will then pay me the rent out of the cash I gave him. He will pay me the electric, gas and water. I'll remind him of the cell phone he has and car note and insurance then see if he has money left over for food. In the end I'll have all of my money back in my hands. I was not prepared to move out on my own when I did. After paying all of my bills and buying milk,eggs bread, and ramen noodles I didn't have a dime left over to save and I was living in the crappiest apartments around (the kind that you can't get food deliveries after dark) so to say the least I learned the hard way it isn't always easy to live the good life. I never went hungry and I was so proud to be living on my own and I didn't have a debt to my name (the car I had was mine, no note) but I certainly didn't have any luxuries like cable, in fact I had a coworker that felt bad for me so every night she would record shows for me that she thought I would love such as crank yankers (on VHS I would like to add) then she would bring me the tape at the end of the week and I would bring her the one from the previous week. My bed was my couch (a fouton at Walmart was all I could afford) and I remember that my best friend at the time Danielle told me I better know she loves me because who else would come to your house and sit on the floor since you didn't have any furniture and play cards with you while listening to the radio! I didn't want a room mate because I wanted to be able to say I really did it all on my own..... I did and was proud!
I hope I can teach Rylan how to get ahead early! I hope he grows into a financially stable young adult :)