Evening star., 1935-05-10
ldNeeds
knowledge
OF Budgets
BY ANGELO PATRI.

CHILDREN learn early that money
can be used for pleasant ends. 1t
buys sweets for one thing and toys
for another. Before long, as their ex-
periences widen. they learn that 1t
buys friends. Children are not dis
eliminating in their friendships. A
smile and a grateful word are as well
come from one as from another. They
live very much on the surface ana
in the present moment. j..
All this tends to make the use OF
money bit of problem for Thought.
full parents. If the child is allowed
to buy sweets he is likely to buy the
wrong sort, and too much OF 1t. II ne
is given money as he asks for 1t 10
buy toys and treats for his friends, ne
becomes extravagant and gains no
notion of the value of the money ne
is using, Yet the children must learn
these values by first-hand experiences.
Each child ought to have an allow
ance ior the very week he begins 10
ask for a penny. He must be ratloiieu
or the pennies viii flow out IN an
ever increasing stream, with eVef-Al-
creasing difficulties for the parents
and neighbors. When the child dlS-
covers that his pennies handed him
on Monday morning are to be all ne
is to get until the next MONDAY ne
learns the first lesson on the use OF
money. Once it is spent, it Is gone.
After the spending there comes an
emptiness. Let him get that nrmly
set in his mind and the rest Is going
to be easier.
The allowance increases with the
age and experience and the Judgment
of the child. Some form OF account
ing must accompany the allowance so
that the child learns to keep accurate
records of getting and spending. The
record is in itself a great force for
conservation. 1t acts also as cor
rective The too Stingy child, or the
too generous one, can see picture
of his financial ways. an accurate one,
which informs him what manner OF
person he is. The record speaks to his
eve and his conscience, while the voice
of the anxious adult speaks only to
his ear.
Most of the difficulty comes in the
years of adolescence. The young peo-
pie have adult desires without adult
experience and power. They want the
things they see others have. They
want the pleasures that money can
buy. They want the feeling of power
that spending gives them. Their lack
of experience sets their scheme out OF
balance. They make mistakes, some
of them annoying some of them seri-
GUS. 1t is rather late to begin teach
inc the use and value Of money to an
adolescent child That teaching should
have been done in the years preceding
adolescence The young people should
arrive at these years with a fairly
complete background Of earning, spend
ing, conserving and saving.
But suppose they haven't had this
training? What then? Do your best
to make up for it. Initiate the young
people into the secrets of the budget.
Set aside their share of 1t and super
wise their use Of it until they can
manage alone. Do not give a bank
account and a check book to a young
person who has never spent dollar
thoughtfully in his life. Do not allow
a young worker to spend all he earns
upon himself without reference to
family obligations.
Begin with the little ones. A sound
training in the early years prevents
many of the difficulties that beset par
ents and adolescent children later on.
Money in itself has no meaning to
children. Experience puts meaning
and value into it. Education adjusts
these experiences.
Copyright. 1857