[originaltext] When my son Ryan saw a T-shirt on sale for 5 dollars marked d

When my son Ryan saw a T-shirt on sale for 5 dollars marked down from 8, he told me, "We’ll save 3 dollars if we buy it now." He looked at me in surprise when I answered, "We’ll save 5 dollars if we don’t buy it at all,"
    Today’s children get lots of messages and values from television and from friends. They are encouraged to buy things they don’t need. What they need is an understanding of the value of the dollar. How do children learn the important facts of life? Most schools do not teach them. It is up to parents to help their children.
    To learn about money children need to have some, Early on, parents often handed out money on an as-needed basis. But experts say paying certain amount of money each week is the best way to teach children the meaning of money, how to use it and how to plan.
    But how much should the parents give? Some experts suggest giving one dollar for each year of age, but Dr. Olivia Mellan disagrees: "I think 5 dollars a week is too much for a 5-year-old, and 15 dollars is probably not enough for a 15-year-old." What’s right depends on three things: the child’s level of development, how much yon can give, and what you expect him to pay for.
    However much you give them, children will soon feel they need more. But Sharon M. Danes, a professor at the University of Minnesota, insists that children don’t need a raise each year; "There’s no lesson to be learned when children expect an increase just because they are a year older," she says. "What they should learn is how to be good money earners, savers and spenders."