Darla Kashian is vice president-financial adviser at RBC Wealth Management in Minneapolis.

In The Wall Street Journal, she offers some sage advice about students’ education costs.

…Children are more likely to value the educational opportunity they’ve been given if they have some skin in the game. Taking responsibility for funding part of one’s education requires both focus and discipline. It not only teaches the next generation about saving and budgeting, it inspires in them a real sense of pride over that accomplishment.

…If parents are asking a child to cover, say, 10% of expected college expenses, they should provide a rough estimate of the expected contribution and offer some guidance as to how the child can raise the funds.

For some students, it could mean simply adjusting their current spending habits. For others, it may mean working while attending school. That can be a hard sell unless parents frame it in a creative way. For example, parents can explain how job experience is one of the best ways for students to make themselves attractive to future employers in a competitive job market. In this way, the notion of working a few hours a week becomes much easier for students to digest.

Most important, parents can show their children that by taking responsibility for themselves, they are building their future in a meaningful way.