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Money, Your CM
By SIDONIE MATSNER GRUENBERG with Hilda Sidney Krech
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Here is why and how the dollar should
educational tool that can teach youngsters
4 family Weekly, January 1. 1S6I "
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANN ZANE SHANKS
he used as an
priceless lessons
cream," Jennifer wailed. "I want to giue up
the ice cream."
What a strange remark! Especially from Jen
nifer, a normal little girl of eight. Who ever heard
of a girl (or boy) wanting to give up something?
To understand this snatch of dialogue we have
to go back and listen to the whole conversation
between Jennifer and her mother.
"Mom," said Jennifer, coming home from school
one day, "I wish I had a regular allowance the way
Susan has."
"What on earth do you want an allowance for?"
Mrs. Blaine asked. "You're much too young."
Jennifer had been giving the matter some
thought, and she did very well for an eight-year-old
as she explained her position. She admitted
that, of course, she would like daily ice
cream cones, weekly movies, every toy
that appealed to her, and anything else
her generous parents might give her. But
there was a special doll that Susan was
going to get with her own money. She was
saving for it, 15 cents a week. Though it
would take her quite some time to save
enough, it would mean a great deal more
to Susan because she had bought it with
her very own money.
Mrs. Blaine still thought the girl too
young for money of her own, but she was
impressed with her daughter's serious
ness, and she promised to take up the
matter of an allowance with Dad when he
came home that evening.
To her surprise (and mild alarm), Mr.
Blaine thought this a splendid idea. Chil
dren should have some practice in han
dling money, he said. They should also
have practice in making choices giving
up certain pleasures now for a greater
pleasure at a later time.
"You make it all sound so wise and logi
cal," Mrs. Blaine protested, "but you know
perfectly well that Jennifer's only a little girl. She's
bound to lose her money sometimes. And after
this special doll is bought, she's bound to squander
her allowance on foolish trifles."
"Sure, she'll make mistakes," Mr. Blaine agreed.
"Foolish ones, too. But maybe she'll learn from
them. She'll buy shoddy stuff that doesn't last till
she gets home; next time maybe she'll look twice
before buying. Sure, she'll buy stuff and realize
later that she doesn't want it at all, but later she'll
think twice before buying."
Mrs. Blaine, like many of us, was afraid of
money in the hands of careless children. Lost
money and wasted money seemed to her much
worse, somehow, than lost rubbers and wasted
food. Most of us also find it hard to look on money
as an "educational tool" like crayons and pencils,
scissors, hammers, and knives. However well off
we are, there never seems to be quite enough
money to squander.,
Reluctantly, however, Mrs. Blaine agreed that
Jennifer could have an allowance. And, as she
had predicted, Jennifer saved diligently until she
bought the little doll then became more careless,
spent her allowance on less worthwhile things,
occasionally even lost it.
But, as Mr. Blaine had predicted, Jennifer also
started to learn a thing or two. While she was sav
ing, Jennifer was pleasantly surprised at how
quickly small amounts added up to a dollar, then
a dollar-and-a-half. She was unpleasantly sur
prised at how quickly money runs through your
fingers if you don't watch out, leaving you with
worthless stuff or small, forgotten pleasures.
But Jennifer's lessons are well worth their cost.
Even Mrs. Blaine sees that now. For one thing,
only money is involved! Traffic, fire, water these
things are dangerous; yet boys and girls must
learn to master or control them; here they can't
afford to make big mistakes! Secondly, it's much
better to make money mistakes now when nick-
SOME TIPS ON MONEY AND KIDS
Money is an important ('part of our daily lives. Will your
children be able to handle it in adulthood? They will if you
as parents:
1. ' Give regular, fixed allowances and not just odd sums
in hit-and-miss fashion.
2. Start money-training early in childhood When it's a
matter of nickels and dimes instead of dollars.
3. In general, let children make mistakes. Through the
experience of mistakes, they learn.
4. Do not hesitate to offer advice, however, on handling
money; nor to step in when money is used harmfully.
5. Do not use money as a reward for things expected of
a child good behavior, for example. Do not withhold money
as punishment.
6. Most of all, teach children that, as important as it Is,
money cannot buy all the valuable things of life respect and
love, for instance.
els and dimes and quarters are involved than
later on, toward adolescence, when it's a serious
matter of dollars.
Certainly, money lessons must be learned, soon
er or later. Like it or not, money plays an impor
tant role in the lives of all of us today. Each fam
ily finds this out for itself, often with something of
a shock because the picture has changed so dras
tically in the past few generations. Most parents of
present teen-agers, for example, grew up in de
pression years when money was scarce. The gen
eration before that, the present grandparents, grew
up in a much simpler economy than the one we
know today.
The exact age at which an individual child be
gins to handle money today depends in part on
where the family lives in relation to stores,
schools, and transportation. Many four-year-olds
go to the store for bread and other items. Many
five- and six-year-olds, starting school or kinder
garten, need money for carfare, milk, and various
. contributions. Given such responsibility, boys and
girls usually learn a great deal about money. On
a bus one day, for example, two boys of about ten
were discussing a purchase they had in mind.
"Phil knows a place where you can get it .
cheaper," said one.
"Cheaper, sure, but not so good," said the other.
"Phil had to buy three since school started, and
I've still got my first one."
The boys left the bus without revealing what
"it" was that could be bought cheaper but not so
good, whether it was a toy, tool, or tie. But they
did reveal that, young as they were, they had al
ready gained some wisdom about price and quality.
Many parents, however, feel that there is no
"extra" household money, that they can barely get
through each week, and that an allowance is a
luxury they can't afford. Mrs. Finlay was in such
a position when she was talking with her friend,
Mi's. Dobbs.
"How can you give each of your chil
dren an allowance every week?" she
asked. "Fred and I could never afford to
do that."
"You do give them money once in a
while, don't you?" Mrs. Dobbs asked.
"Of course. Sometimes for a little treat,
sometimes for something special that one
of them really wants. I have to decide each
time whether we can afford it not pay it
out automatically the way you do."
Mrs. Dobbs persuaded her friend to
keep track for a few weeks of the nickels,
dimes, and quarters she gave her three
children. To Mrs. Finlay's surprise, this
turned out to be a fairly sizable amount.
Mrs. Finlay figured out that she would
spend even less if she gave fixed sums
regularly. It also occurred to her that it
was even more important in families
where each dime counts for the children
to practice making each dime go as far
as possible.
One cannot say, however, that all the
Finlays lived happily ever after! Admin
istering an allowance can getcomplicated
when, for example, a child needs an "advance"
for a sound, legitimate reason, and then has trou
ble while he pays back the loan. Parents are some
times inclined to give up when matters get too
complex, but if they think things through they
usually come to the conclusion that the knowledge,
judgment, and experience their children gain are
well worth the pains.
' From the child's point of view, one Finlay
youngster said; "I'm not sure I like getting an
allowance. Before, when I used to ask for money
for something in particular, you decided whether
it was a good idea. Now I have to decide whether
I really want it that much, and that's hard!"
, Hard, yes but one of the things all of us have
to learn when we're handling allowances or in
comes is: what do we really want, what do we
value? For adults, many of these decisions are
made for us. We have no say, for example, on the
amount we are going to spend on taxes. And as
children reach junior high school, then high school,
they, too, have more "fixed" items about which
they have no choice.
Some parents don't consider these expenditures
. (CcmliriHed)
family Weekly. January 1, 1961
5