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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 to 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 shortsighted 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 the "learning by doing" principle 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.

参考翻译：

教导孩子明智地使用零花钱

入学儿童需要零花钱来支付食品、文具和公交费用。父母以不同的方式给孩子零花钱。有些父母在月初或是周一给孩子一笔钱。还有些父母每日给孩子一点儿零钱。以何种方式给零花钱影响到如何消费或是节省。另一方面，孩子的消费习惯也会影响到如何给他们零花钱。

每日给的零花钱有时称之为“饭钱”。如果下午有学校活动的话，孩子们在课间休息时或是午饭时间通常用这零花钱去买些吃的。他们学会如何管理一小部分钱。因为钱数有限，他们不得不控制消费。有些父母选择这样一种方式，即拨给孩子一定零用钱来阻止他们超支，并希望假以时日他们可以放心地给大点数额的钱。出于财务限制，赚取日工资的父母也可能选择这样的方式。

按日给零花钱对于父母来说有重要的预算意义，而不是孩子。孩子知道第二天还能得到一笔零花钱，因而会花光每一分钱，暴食垃圾食品。这导致孩子在消费上没有远见。他们脑子里根本没有节约用钱的观念。他们可能发展出钱就是用来花的心态。有些孩子花的比给的还多。当不够花时，他们从兄弟姐妹或是同学那借钱。他们可能要钱来偿还他们的债务。这种借钱的习惯导致他们依赖别人来解决问题。在这样的情况下，定量配给的目的就没有达到。

子女需要学会如何将零花钱做预算。一些父母采用“从实践中学习”的原则，在月初的时候给孩子一笔钱，结果在当月第三周他们就花光了一个月的零钱。

另一方面，有些孩子学会了很好地为零钱做预算，甚至在月末的时候有结余。他们没必要借钱。换句话说，他们学会了量入为出。这样做的关键是区分需要的和想要的。先买需要的东西，如果钱还有剩余,再消费他们想要的。年幼时因反复灌输而养成的习惯就会使他们在开始工作赚钱时受益。这让他们能够抵挡住“先消费后支付”的诱惑。

任何习惯的形成都始于幼年。教育孩子如何管理金钱，从管理他们的零花钱开始是最好的方法。从幼儿园时期，他们就需要学会正确的做开支的重要性。一个好办法是从每日的零用钱开始，逐步过渡到每月的零用钱。当子女学会了量入为出，他们在以后的生活中也就能够管理好他们的财产。