[originaltext] An allowance is an important tool for teaching kids how to bu

An allowance is an important tool for teaching kids how to budget, save and make their own decisions. Children remember and learn from mistakes when their own dollars are lost or spent foolishly. How large an allowance is appropriate? Experts say there is no right amount. Actual amounts differ from region to region, and from family to family. To set an appropriate allowance for your child, work up a weekly budget. Allow for entertainment expenditures such as movies and snacks. Next, include everyday expenses such as lunch money, bus fare, and school supplies. "If you make the child responsible for these bills," says Josephine Swanson, a consumer specialist, "he or she will learn to budget for necessary expenditures."
    Finally, add some money to make saving possible. If you can, keep your child’s allowance in line with that of his friends. A child whose purchasing power falls away below his peers’ can feel left out. It can be tough, but avoid excusing your children when they made a mistake with their allowance. When Brooke Stephens was ten, her mother gave her $5 a week, $1.75 of which was for bus fare and lunch. One week the girl spent all her allowance in a candy store; then she called home for a ride. "Mom made me walk home," recalls Stephens, now a financial planner in Brooklyn. "At first I was angry. But I realized that she was trying to teach me an important lesson."
    Experts advise that an allowance should not be tied directly to a child’s daily housework. Kids should help around the house not because they get paid for it but because they share responsibilities as members of a family. You might, however, pay a child for doing extra jobs at home, which can develop his or her initiative.