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Show Quips (g)aiid Quotes New Year's nesoIutIon&Theyfro Easy! Vve taped those words for you to My iron tcitf is something, Dear, On which you haven't reckoned! HalChadwick What used to be known as "The Ghost of Christmas Past" is now referred to as "Please ' Walt Streightiff Remit" Currtst:H-Crrieu!- (To my A!ma course listings In her catalog) Teach 'em madrigals and jiving, " Etiquette and speedboat-drivin- g; Teach 'em how to splice a rift or split a hair. ; But when they're socially Don't pretend to be astounded That they're also intellectually square. well-round- " -- ed, Al Brooks Survival in America was once a matter of being quick on the draw; now it's a matter of being quick on the brake' pedal. Two youngsters strayed from their mother in a crowded department store. They bought m cones and amused themselves some themselves riding up and down the escalator. Suddenly the boy noticed his ice cream was dripping on him, and he deftly wiped his hand on the back of a woman's mink stole. "Wait till Mother sees what you've done, The owner oj a bowling center saw a woman d, then switching to her bowling? left hand. "Pardon me," he said, "but you'll improve your average a lot if you just concentrate on one hand." "What average?" the woman asked. "I'm here to take off weight I want to take some off my left side, and some off my right side." ' Frances Benson as part of the allowance for the very reason that . the child has no choice. They give each child his spending money weekly, then dole out carfare and luncH money each day. On the whole, however, parents have found it wise to add these amounts to the allowance and gradually to increase the items for which f the boy or girl is responsible. Managing larger sums of money teaches a child something, even though he is not always making decisions and choices. He gets some idea of how fast money disappears, how much it takes to keep even one child going. There are times, however, when issues other than money are involved, and parents must interfere in their children's handling of money. Jonathan, just starting to receive an allowance and to feel its power, announced:'1 "I've bought this whole bag of candy and I'm going to eat it right now!" His mother explained that, while it was indeed "his," Jonathan could not be permitted to make himself sick or to spoil his appetite. The allowance is important, yes. But other things are important Jonathan, for instance! And Mother is still in charge of his welfare. Bruce, who is twice Jonathan's age, got himself in the same spot He bought a knife which his father wouldn't permit him to take to school or the playground. He could use it at home, for whitwith a friend, but tling or playing mumblety-pe- g not in a crowded place. While the knife belonged to Bruce, his father felt that the responsibility for avoiding accidents was still very much his. right-hande- , "1 A leading .writer, editor, and lecturer on child devel- opment and parent education, Sidonie Gruenberg is special consultant to the Child Study Association of America. Her books include "The Encyclopedia of Child Cafe published by Doubleday; "Par,..f..,llm..,-.,l...-- , ents Guide to Everyday Problems of Boys and Girls," Random House; and "The Wonderful Story of You: Your Body, Your Mind, Your Feelings" (with Benjamin C, Gruenberg), Garden City Press. V . Family Weekly, January 1,1961. - , (Continued) old - Johnny!" shouted his sister, "Getting fur all Ernest Blevins over your ice cream!" . Money, Your Child, and You Six-year-- On January Second. Rutti Chadwich ice-crea- a Hater on tome hear and-Guidance- . i " i x What puzzles parents most of all, it seems, is whether to give a child his allowance when he has been disobedient, dishonest, discourteous, or otherwise distressing. Time and again a parent will say, "Dave handed me a shockingly bad report card. The next moment he was holding his hand out for his allowance. . "What should I do? Pay him?" Or, "Ellen was late for everything all week-sch- ool, dinner, piano lessons. But Saturday morning, before making her bed, she promptly asked for her allowance. I felt I was rewarding her for her thoughtless, irresponsible behavior." This situation is so common that mothers and fathers must, from the very beginning, be perfectly clear about where they stand. They cannot start jdiminishing the allowance or taking it away as a punishment or a sign 'of disapproval. If they did, their children could learn nothing about planning, budgeting, or the value of a dollar because their allowances would fluctuate with their behavior. We must not allow ourselves to be so emotional about money that it takes on a value of its own. Basically, money is to buy other things, and in the family it should be treated as such. It makes no more sense to reward children with money for good behavior than to deprive them of it for bad behavior. To give Dan a dollar for being po- -' lite or helpful gives him the privilege of returning the dollar and continuing his rudeness. Dan must learn, and home is the place to learn it, that we value other things, too things which have nothing to do with money,' With their allowances and other experiences," children find out ..what money can buy. A more important, more difficult lesson and this they learn indirectly, in many subtle ways is to discover what money cannot buy! Many parents are saying that the moral climate of our times makes it impossible to give boys and girls a sound sense of values. How can we help our children put money in its proper place in a world of corruption, rigging, and payola?- - But in all times there have been practices and influences . . ' believe this gentleman is next.' ... in the world which distressed parents. Formerly, parents used to hope that their children "wouldn't know about such things." Now we know it's hopeless trying to shield our children. But we can still guide them, interpreting what they see and hear. In the long run, however, it is not what we tell our children that matters, not what we say, but what we do. For the kind of people we really are, the qualities we truly value will come through to them. And we can rest assured that the home's influence is still the, strongest, that our ideals and values will be reflected in as they grow into men and women. our-childre- n's . ; ; |