Achieving the American dream will be harder for kids today than for previous generations. Here's how to make sure yours have the head start they deserve.

Seven out of 10 Americans believe they are living a better life than their parents, according to a new MONEY survey, and almost all of those who are moms and dads say they want to make sure their kids do the same. It's an integral part of the American dream--the notion that each generation should enjoy a higher standard of living than the one that came before it. And if you're a mom or dad, chances are you want that for your kids too.

But while your own parents and grandparents could pretty much take this outcome for granted, today's children face a far different economic landscape--one marked by stiffer global competition, an uncertain job market, easier credit, declining retirement benefits and a host of new financial products that make managing money on a day-to-day basis increasingly complex. The result: That rising standard of living is no longer the slam dunk that previous generations of Americans enjoyed.

Scary stuff, huh? Sure, but challenging too, with the potential for greater rewards--yes, that better life--for young people who are well equipped to navigate the new terrain. Whether your kids are toddlers or have toddlers of their own, you have the power to tilt the financial odds in their favor. These strategies will help.

Strategy no. 1
EXPLAIN THE NEW MONEY RULES
Unlike you and your parents before you, kids today are growing up in a world in which technology has made money largely invisible. Want to buy something? Hand a piece of plastic to a cashier and the goods are yours. Need cash? Stick a card into a bank machine and out pops the dough that probably landed in your account through direct deposit of your paycheck. Since actual dollars change hands far less often these days, children don't get to learn by observation how financial transactions work, and parents miss out on everyday opportunities to teach the basics of managing money.

So it's up to Mom and Dad to explain what kids can't see with their own eyes, starting as soon as your son throws his first candy-demanding tantrum at the grocery store or your daughter asks for a magic money card like yours. "The earlier you begin talking to your children about money, the better chance you'll have to instill the values you think are important," says Philip Heckman, director of youth programs for the Credit Union National Association.

Instead of delivering formal lectures, casually drop lessons into your daily financial routines. When your preschooler accompanies you to the ATM, let him know that you're taking out money you earned at work and put in the bank for safekeeping. Verbalize your purchase considerations at the store, comparing prices and quality out loud. If you whip out the plastic to pay, explain that either the amount is being taken out of your bank account directly (if you are paying with a debit card) or you will get a bill in the mail that you must pay later (if it's a credit card). Add layers of detail and sophistication as your child gets older, explaining, for example, the concept of interest and late fees.

Look for ways to directly involve your child in financial activities, making a game of it if possible. When twins Jaime and Lisa Alpert were little, their mother Joni routinely armed the girls with coupons while shopping together for groceries, then sent them on scavenger hunts through the store to find the best deals. At checkout, she'd show her daughters the register tape so they could see how much they'd saved. And if Joni caught a scanner error and got a refund, she'd immediately hand the money to the kids. If you talk to a child about the importance of saving money, "it just goes in one ear and out the other," says Joni, a radio producer in Atlanta. But if you give them the money saved, she says, "it's a very powerful motivator."

These childhood shopping trips have made thriftiness so deeply ingrained for Jaime and Lisa, now 23, that they routinely and creatively search for bargains, no matter what they're buying. Case in point: When the girls graduated from different colleges on different weekends earlier this year, they didn't each buy graduation robes. Instead, they shared a single cap and gown, saving one last $30 on their college education.