Evening star., 1936-07-02
Adjusting
The Child'S
Allow ance
Stress Economy as In
creases Are
Made.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

MONEY problems appear during
adolescent years. While the
child was still young enough to be
given a small allowance and guided
in its use there was little trouble.
When the child became a young per-
son with mature desires and adult
tastes, things became more difficult
Money took on great importance.
Nobody has any money to waste
Parents are hard put to it to keep the
home going, the children fed and
clothed and educated. When an ado
lescent boy or girl demands money
for extras like dress accessories, they
are likely to be met with impatience.
Impatience breeds bad temper and i'll
feeling, and 1t is not long before the
atmosphere of home is very unhappy
The meaning and use of money
must be taught children as early as
they can begin to understand it. That
means as soon as they begin to ask
for pennies to spend they are to be
put on an allowance and trained. not
by strict injunction. but by personal
experience and adult advice in the
best ways of spending it. Early child
hood is spending time, not saving
time. The first step in money edu-
cation is learning how to get the best
values out of money. Saving comes
later.
As the child grows in experience his
needs multiply and his allowance
must increase. Now he is given money
and told that set portion Of it Is to
be spent for necessities. These are
selected by his father or mother, and
he is trained to buy them. At this
stage he Is taught to lay aside some
of his weekly allowance for future
spending. He saves with a direct pur-
pose in view, nearby view. Long
term saving does not mean anything
to children. 1t is purely an adult idea.
If child has been trained this
way he is not likely to give his people
any anxiety about money when he is
an adoleScent. He will be earning
some money of his own and using
it to help himself and relieve his
parents of just that much of his sup
port. But If he has not been trained
he will be spending all his money on
himself and asking for more. He
will want everything he sees anybody
else have and make a fuss in the
house because he cannot have it,
There Is only one course open. Take
him aside, tell him in as few words
as possible the state of affairs and
his relation to it. Tell him exactly
what he can expect in the way of
help, what he has to do on his side,
and stick to it ever afterward. 1t
will be like putting on the brakes
suddenly when car Is going full
speed, but you will have to take the
shock and the risks. The child can
not go on as he is and the sooner
he is adjusted the better.
When children reach the are of
understanding-that Is, when they
seem to know that there is limited
amount OF money coming into the
house and that it must be conserved
and shared with care-it is time to
teach them the innermost facts of
household economy, time to share
the family concerns. They should
have some idea of how much niorey
there is to spend, what it is spent for
and how they can help in the con-
servation. Responsibility steadies chill
dren, makes them intelligent about
everyday matters like money and
home-making and family co-opera-
ton. Children who make trouble
about money have not been properly
trained in its use and meaning, and
are not SO much to blame as they
are to be pitied and helped.
tCopyrisht 1885,