A saying in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” runs “Security is man’s chiefest enemy.” This is true to teenagers to a great extent. A teenager pampered by stead pocket money and all or most of his or her desired fulfilled by the parents are unlikely to come in terms with the harsh realities of life. He or she is unlikely to understand the true value of money and how to earn or spend money responsibly.
Parents would do well to control the teenagers pocket money. The ideal approach would be to make the teenager earn pocket money through the performance of some small chores. The payment need not be linked to the work done, but only to drive home the idea that there is no reward without toil. The teenager should also be encourages to save a portion of his or her pocket money to buy expensive items like music system, perfumes and other gadgets.
Parents would also do well to make the teenage child account on how the pocket money was spent. This ill develop the child’s accounting skills and also enable the parents to counsel the child in case the spending is not in a desirable fashion.
Parents should however not restrict or withhold pocket money, for that might tempt the child to steal or lie for pocket money.