The Adams family was walking through a shopping mall. "Dad, can I borrow five dollars? I just saw a model airplane I have been looking for. I'll pay you back." "Ernie, you just got your allowance last Tuesday." "But I spent it all on videos. Please Dad." "But, Ernie, you know our policy is not to lend money. I am very sorry. I guess you will have to learn by experience to live within your income."

Teaching children how to handle money responsibly--as stewards of God's gifts--should begin very early. Parents should teach money management the same as any other value. Leslie and Martha overheard their father and mother talking about a new car they would like to have and Dad said, "Yes, it would be nice to buy a new Toyota, but we have to pay off our debts first." This teaches self-restraint. "The highest evidence of maturity is to postpone pleasure."

The best method of teaching children money management is giving them an allowance. Ellen White says, "Let him learn the right use of money by using it." Child Guidance, p. 136. Most authorities agree that by the time the child is six years old and in the first grade, he is ready to learn how to manage money. "Teddy, we are going to start giving you an allowance of $1 per week. This is to help you learn how to manage your money responsibly. Here are four small plastic containers. We have printed on the first one: 'God's Tithe,' the second one: 'Offerings,' the third one: 'Savings,' and the fourth: `Spending.' Now here are ten dimes. God asks us to pay Him one-tenth or one dime out of a dollar as tithe. This is to show our appreciation for His love. Then we are asking you to save five dimes each week for big things that you may want to buy in the future. That leaves you four dimes, or 40 cents to spend any way you want to, including your Sabbath school offering. You decide how much you want to give. Every Sunday morning you will be given your allowance."

John Rosemond suggests the following weekly schedule: Age 6: $1; Age 8: $2; Age 10: $3; Age 12: $5. (Better Homes & Gardens, July 1987). Older children can learn to purchase their own clothing and keep an account of their expenses. This should be done gradually in keeping with the child's intellectual and emotional development and in accordance with the family's financial abilities.

It is best not to withhold an allowance as a penalty for misbehavior. Remember, an allowance is a teaching device. Involve your children in family research for any major purchase--such as a bicycle, an automobile, a washing machine, etc. Teach them how to compare prices and research different brands emphasizing reliability. Then watch for sales and cut out coupons. Take your children to a secondhand store and show them how they can save money there. Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of buying on credit. Encourage your children to earn money by baby-sitting, lawn care, and so on, to augment their allowances. And do not pay for regular household chores. We all have a responsibility for the up-keep of the home. A college girl received a letter from a major bank inviting her to apply for a credit card. She got the card and soon spent up to the max. She had to drop out of school in order to pay her bills. Her Dad had the good judgment not to bail her out.

Grace Weinstein says, "Remember that emotional satisfaction is derived from the way money is used. Children's purchases, just like ours, fulfill personal needs. Children should have leeway to buy the things that are important to them. Youngsters learn by their mistakes, too. Set reasonable limits, based on your family's values." "Kids & Money," Ladies' Home Journal, Dec. 1985. But remember, you always have veto power over allowance expenditures. But use it wisely and kindly.

Explain where money comes from--it has to be earned. Parents get pay checks and from their income they pay bills. Remind your children that God provides the strength to earn money. He blesses us with income and everything we have is really God's. We are only His managers. Our tithes and offerings are ways of showing our love.

David McConahey said, "Money molds men--in the process of getting it, of saving it, of using it, of giving it, of accounting for it. According as it is handled, it proves either a blessing or a curse to its possessor: either the man becomes master of his money or the money becomes master of the man. Acquisition makes the money, but distribution makes the man." Money, the Acid Test.