????我的三個(gè)孩子現(xiàn)在還不太明白錢(qián)是怎么回事，這也很正常,。三個(gè)孩子中最大的也才剛剛4歲,。

????兩個(gè)大的孩子都有自己的小儲(chǔ)錢(qián)罐，用來(lái)存放親戚們給的零錢(qián),。最近,，他們跟著奶奶去了趟沃爾瑪（Wal-Mart）超市的玩具區(qū)，因?yàn)榍槿斯?jié)時(shí)奶奶給了他們每人5美元,，他們想看看把錢(qián)合起來(lái)能買(mǎi)些什么玩具,。因此，在不久的將來(lái),，我和孩子的爸爸就有必要開(kāi)始和他們談?wù)勫X(qián)了,，而且我們必須講明白。

????對(duì)于這樣的談話(huà),，我談不上有什么期待,。雖然這些年來(lái)，我一直在寫(xiě)和錢(qián)有關(guān)的文章,，但這個(gè)問(wèn)題依然讓我躊躇,。起初我的想法是，要讓孩子們“知道每1美元的價(jià)值”——珍惜金錢(qián),，就像他們的爸爸和我一樣,。誰(shuí)知道未來(lái)十年美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)還會(huì)遭遇什么樣的風(fēng)暴呢？我應(yīng)當(dāng)教會(huì)他們,，有點(diǎn)錢(qián)就存起來(lái)，以備不時(shí)之需,。

????但在這個(gè)問(wèn)題上我想得越多,，就越發(fā)意識(shí)到（以我們目前的狀況）要教會(huì)他們節(jié)儉是不可能的，而且我也不太確定是否應(yīng)該將我所有的金錢(qián)觀原原本本地教給他們?，F(xiàn)在經(jīng)濟(jì)前景充滿(mǎn)著不確定性,，我希望孩子們?cè)谒伎冀疱X(qián)時(shí)能秉著富足的態(tài)度，但也要有一份危機(jī)感——錢(qián)再多,，也是不夠的,。我想教他們要聰明地用錢(qián)，不要浪費(fèi),，也不要吝嗇,，但這些分寸把握之微妙，很難和孩子們講清楚并讓他們付諸實(shí)踐。

????當(dāng)我開(kāi)始研究孩子和錢(qián)這個(gè)話(huà)題時(shí),，我以為關(guān)于零花錢(qián),、理財(cái)教育等肯定已有很多的研究。畢竟育兒又不是什么新鮮事,。但有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的父母?jìng)兛赡芤呀?jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn),，專(zhuān)家們宣揚(yáng)的種種理論莫衷一是，其中很多甚至根本就沒(méi)有研究作為基礎(chǔ),。

????從同行評(píng)審期刊刊登的文章來(lái)看,，以做家務(wù)活為條件給零花錢(qián)看來(lái)是效果最好的做法，但根本不給零花錢(qián)的方法也很普遍,。

????盡管眾說(shuō)紛紜,，但所有專(zhuān)家都談到了將父輩的金錢(qián)觀傳授給子女的重要性。

????這正是我感到困難的地方,。我的金錢(qián)觀是什么呢,？

????“知道每1美元的價(jià)值”，我的這種觀念來(lái)自于我的家庭,，我的家人經(jīng)常用優(yōu)惠券購(gòu)物,。我的父母后來(lái)生活得不錯(cuò)，但成長(zhǎng)過(guò)程中如果我想要什么東西,，我總要等到圣誕節(jié)或生日,。沒(méi)人把我送到非洲做志愿者，所以我的大學(xué)論文也不是這類(lèi)選題,；我的大學(xué)論文都是在意大利餐館Fazoli's打工期間利用15分鐘的“吸煙休息”時(shí)間在停車(chē)場(chǎng)上寫(xiě)出來(lái)的,。站一整天換取每小時(shí)不到5美元的報(bào)酬，會(huì)讓你對(duì)賺每一元錢(qián)可能要付出的努力都心懷必要的敬意,。

????十五年一晃而過(guò),。值得慶幸的是我已遠(yuǎn)離了整日抹蒜香黃油的日子。我覺(jué)得很幸運(yùn),，如今我能給孩子們提供較好的生活,。但談到孩子和錢(qián)，自我感覺(jué)良好只會(huì)把事情搞得一團(tuán)糟,。

????前不久的一個(gè)周六,，我和最大的孩子一起去逛巴諾書(shū)店（Barnes & Noble）。他看到了展示區(qū)的“托馬斯和朋友們”（Thomas & Friends）,，那是一套木質(zhì)玩具火車(chē),，其中有一列是他還沒(méi)有的，他想讓我買(mǎi),。雖然標(biāo)價(jià)21.99美元,，我還是立刻答應(yīng)了他的要求,，很快買(mǎi)下了那個(gè)高登快速火車(chē)頭（Gordon the Express Engine）。但過(guò)后,，閑下來(lái)想起這件事時(shí),，我有點(diǎn)后悔，擔(dān)心寵壞了孩子,。他還不懂得1美元的價(jià)值呢,！買(mǎi)這個(gè)火車(chē)頭的錢(qián)，是當(dāng)年我在Fazoli's給面包抹五個(gè)小時(shí)的黃油才能賺到的工資,。

????My children haven't quite figured out money yet, which makes sense. The eldest of the three is only four years old.

????The older two have little banks that they use to stash cash from relatives, and they recently took a trip to the toy aisle of Wal-Mart (WMT) with their grandmother. They saw what they could get by pooling the fives she gave them for Valentine's Day. And so, someday soon, their father and I will need to start talking with them about money. And we need to get our story straight.

????I can't say I'm looking forward to these discussions. Even though I've spent the past few years writing about money, I still find this a fraught question. My first thought was that I want my kids to "know the value of a dollar" -- to appreciate money in the same way their father and I do. Who knows what gales our economy will face in the next decades? I should teach them to squirrel away each dollar so they can hunker away from the wind at the door.

????But the more I pondered this, the more I realized that, not only is teaching squirrel behavior impossible, I'm not sure it's desirable to pass along all my money attitudes. In an uncertain world, I'm hoping I can teach my kids to think in terms of abundance alongside the usual money worry -- that there's never enough. I want to teach them to be smart, not wasteful or tight, and all this suggests a tough line to walk with my little ones.

????When I first started looking into the topic of kids and money, I assumed that there must be lots of research on allowances, financial education, and the like. Childrearing isn't a new phenomenon. But as veteran parents have likely discovered, there are many gurus touting different theories, and many of these ideas aren't based on any research at all.

????In terms of what's been published in peer-reviewed journals, it looks like giving an allowance that's conditional on chores seems to work best, but not giving an allowance at all has a lot going for it too.

????Though the theories varied, all the gurus talk of the importance of conveying your money philosophy to your kids.

????This is where I hit a rough patch. What is my money philosophy?

????I know where my "knowing the value of a dollar" mindset came from. I was born into a coupon-clipping household. My parents eventually did quite well, but growing up, I felt there was a reason I needed to wait for Christmas and birthdays if I wanted something. No one was sending me to Africa to volunteer so I could write a college essay about it; I wrote my college essays in the parking lot of Fazoli's Italian restaurant on my 15-minute "smoke" breaks. Standing on your feet all day in exchange for sub-$5/hour paychecks will give you a healthy respect for exactly what it can take to earn a buck.

????Fast-forward 15 years. Thankfully, I have moved beyond the garlic butter ladling days. I feel incredibly lucky for the life I can give my children. But when it comes to kids and money, a certain amount of comfort can muddle everything up.

????When I was at Barnes & Noble with my eldest child one Saturday not long ago, he found a display of wooden Thomas & Friends toy trains and asked me for one that he was missing from his collection. Despite the $21.99 price tag, I complied. Then, having bought Gordon the Express Engine in haste, I repented at leisure, fretting that I was spoiling my child. He wouldn't know the value of a dollar! That train would have taken five hours of breadstick buttering at Fazoli's to earn.