Lessons To Be Learned From Piggy Banks
Piggy banks have long been recognized as a wonderful way to introduce young kids to the concepts of monetary responsibility and independence. Their fun shapes genuinely strike an emotional chord with kids, making saving money a fun activity instead of the chore it generally is for adults! Also known as a penny bank or a money box, piggy banks actually appear to have an ancient history, familiar to diverse cultures the world over.
They did not seem to have taken on the now-traditional porcine shape, however, until medieval times, when, allegedly, the Middle English word for a certain kind of clay, “pygg,” which was commonly used to make various containers, became associated with the household cash box. From there, the spelling changed, until, the legend goes, we have the familiar piggy bank of today.
Modern piggy banks are usually made of plastic, and have a hole at the bottom (namely, the belly) which is normally plugged or otherwise covered for access to the savings, typically coins. Traditionally, piggy banks had been ceramic with only a slit for the deposit of money, and it had been something of a rite of passage to literally break them open upon coming of age or some other similarly momentous circumstance.
These days, most piggies permit much easier retrieval, some featuring removable noses for withdrawal. The most modern kinds even have electronic counters which keep track of savings. Many other animal shapes have also become available, though the generic term “piggy bank” is normally still utilised by way of reference.
The piggy bank is so familiar nowadays that several financial services firms incorporate one into their advertising or even their corporate logo. Piggy banks have also become highly collectible items in themselves, with a wide variety of relatively pricey makes and models that exist more for aesthetic pleasure than to teach any lesson in thrift!