Don't Toss Formula Cans: Use Them To Teach Your Kids A Valuable Skill With This DIY

Babies can go through anywhere between a couple to a dozen cans of infant formula per month, depending on how much they're eating and whether they are exclusively formula-fed or not. That's a lot of empty cans! There are tons of ways you can reuse formula cans, like turning them into adorable candy bags for party favors. But if you're looking for a way to repurpose the cans and teach your kids an important life skill, one YouTuber came up with the best idea. Turn an old can into your child's very first piggy bank!

Immense Craft shared a DIY video on YouTube about creating piggy banks from baby powder using a foam sheet and glue. Simply hot glue the paper around a clean formula can to cover the old label. Now it's easy to decorate, which you can do by cutting out foam pieces and gluing them to the front to create a cute animal. Or, simply use markers to draw pictures or write your child's name on it instead. Once the decorating is done, cut a notch in the top of the lid to drop the coins in.

You could also use plastic infant formula tubs for this project instead. The vessel isn't as important as the creativity behind it. Feel free to experiment with your design by adding faux flowers and ribbons. Or bedazzle the cans with rhinestones or glue lace onto the surface. Another cute option is dipping your baby's feet into paint and printing them on the paper around the can. If an older child is helping, they can add their favorite stickers. There are so many possibilities!

Crafting a piggy bank for your child is tons of fun, but actually using the vessel is even more important. Children can count their money and hold it in their hands, then watch each coin drop down into the bank. Over time, they see their money grow before their eyes until they have enough to spend it on something they really want. It sounds so basic, but physically handling the money is easier for kids to understand than the abstract concept of dollars and cents.

Piggy banks can also help you teach your child how to budget. For example, make them three different piggy banks and dedicate one to spending, one to saving, and one to sharing with a cause that's important to them. 

If you don't have any infant formula cans on hand, you could use baby food jars, shoe boxes, or mason jars to create your own piggy banks. You can even repurpose old hardback books into piggy banks by creating a hole in the middle pages, adding a slot for the money at the top, and gluing the borders to secure it. You can also keep it on your bookshelf among your child's books, giving old books new life with long-term benefits. And to think — you almost just threw those old formula cans away!