Teaching Children to Spend Pocket Money Wisely
School-going children need pocket money for food, stationery and bus fares. Parents give pocket money to their children in different ways. Some give a lump sum at the beginning of a month or a week. Others prefer go give pocket money on a daily basis. The way in which pocket money is given affects how money is spent or saved. On the other hand, the children's spending habits may affect how pocket money is given.
Pocket money given on a daily basis is sometimes termed as "food money". Children usually use the pocket money to buy food during recess and also at lunch hour if they have school activities in the afternoon. They learn how to manage small sums of money.As the money is limited, they have to control their spending. Some parents choose this method of allocating pocket money in order to prevent their children from overspending, hoping that in time they can be trusted with larger sums of money. Parents who earn daily wages may also opt for this due to financial constraints.
Giving pocket money on a daily basis places responsibilities of budgeting on the parents, instead of the child. The child may spend every single cent of the daily pocket money by overindulging in junk food, as they know they will get another sum of money the next day. This results in children being short-sighted in their spending. The thought of saving money never crossed their minds. They may develop the mentality that money is meant to be spent. Others spend more than they are given. They borrow from their siblings or their classmates when they feel like indulging themselves. Then they may ask for money to pay off their debts. This habit of borrowing causes them to depend on others to solve their problems. In such instances, the purpose of rationing is defeated.
Children need to learn how to budget their money. Some parents go by "learning by doing" priceiple and give their children lump sums at the beginning of the month, and by the third week of the month their account is already dry.
On the other hand, some learn to budget their pocket money very well and even have savings at the end of the month. They do not borrow money unnecessarily. In other words, they learn to spend within their means. The key to doing this is to differentiate between needs and wants. Buy the necessary first, and indulge ourselves only if there is money left. This habit, when inculcated since young, stands them in good stead when they start working and earning their own money. It enables them to resist the temptation of "buy now and pay later"schemes.
Formation of any habit starts at a tender age. There is no better way to teach children to manage money than to start with their pocket money. They need to learn the importance of budgeting right from kindergarten days. It is a good idea to start with daily pocket money and move on to monthly pocket money. When children learn to spend within their means, they are able to manage their finances well later in their lives.
school-going children:上学的孩子
stationery：文具
lump sum：一次付清的大笔钱款
daily basis：每天
affects：影响
On the other hand：另一方面
spending habits：消费习惯
termed as：称为
recess：休会；课间休息
lunch hour：午休；午餐时间
school activities：校园活动
sum：金额
method of allocating：分配方法
prevent from：阻止；防止
in time：经过一段时间；结合上文这里指：希望有一天；希望某一天
daily wages：日结工资；日工资
opt：选择
due to：由于
financial constraints：财务约束；手头紧
instead of：而不是
indulging：放任；沉迷；沉溺于
as they know：因为他们知道
short-sighted：目光短浅
mentality：心态
meant to：意味着；意在
siblings：兄弟姐妹
indulging themselves：放纵他们自己
In such instances：在这种情况下
rationing：定量配给政策；定量供应
budget：预算
go by：接合上文指：遵照；遵循。也指流逝
savings：储蓄；盈余
differentiate：区分
inculcated：反复灌输；谆谆教诲
stands them in good stead：对他们是有好处的
resist the temptation：抵制诱惑
schemes：计划
Formation：形成；成型
tender age：幼年
kindergarten：学前班；幼儿园
move on：离开；改作别事
spend within their means：量入为出
在校生需要零花钱买食物、文具和支付公交费用。父母们给孩子们零花钱有不同的方式。一些父母在月初或周初一次性给一大笔钱，有些父母按日给孩子零花钱。给零花钱的不同方式决定了有多少钱被花掉，多少钱被存下来。另一方面，孩子们的花费习惯也影响了父母给零花钱的方式。
零花钱按天给被称为“伙食费”。孩子们通常拿这些钱在课间休息，或者在他们下午学校有活动时在午休时买一些食物。因为钱的金额有限，他们必须控制他们的花费，学会如何管理小数额的钱。一些父母选择用这种方法去分配钱也是为了让他们的孩子避免过度消费，希望某一天他们能在拥有大额金钱时被信任。也有一些工资日结的父母由于手头不宽裕，所以选择这种方式。
按日给零花钱实际上是把原本应该放在孩子身上的财务预算责任放在了父母身上，因为他们知道明天会拿到同样的钱，所以他们会花光每一分钱用来买垃圾食品。这是孩子们在花费方面的短视，他们是不会去想存钱的。因此他们会形成一个认识，那就是钱就是用来花的。有一些孩子花出去的比他们收到的钱更多，当他们想放纵自己时，他们会向兄弟姐妹或同学借钱，然后再向父母要钱还借款。这个习惯导致他们依靠别人来解决自己的问题，在这种情况下，定量配给的目的也就宣告失败了。
孩子们需要学习如何做预算。一些父母用“边做边学”的原则，在月初给他们的孩子一笔钱，然后发现第三周他们就全部用完了。
另一方面，有些孩子学习给零花钱做预算，做得非常好，甚至在月底的时候还能存下一些。他们不借不必要的钱，换句话说，他们学会了量入为出。做到这点的关键是区分需要的和想要的。首先买必需品，只有在有余钱的时候才满足自己想要的。年轻的时候给孩子反复灌输这个观念，对他们开始工作自己赚钱时是非常有益的。这个习惯使他们能够抵抗“先消费后支付”的诱惑体系。
培养小孩在幼年便养成习惯，在孩子开始拿零花钱时便教他们如何管理金钱，这是培养孩子财商的最好方法。他们需要从幼儿园时便认识到做预算的重要性。从每天给零花钱开始再转向按月给零花钱是个不错的办法，当孩子们学会量入为出，他们也就能够在以后的人生中管理好他们的资产。
不错的句子：It is a good idea to start with daily pocket money and move on to monthly pocket money.
