My daughter, the American

We started Lea on an allowance — $3.00 a week. Today was her weekly excursion to the movies with her summer camp-like “playground program,” and rich with cash, she approached the snack counter and bought popcorn, M&Ms, and apple juice.

She didn’t have enough to pay for it. Did she put back the M&Ms or the juice? Heck, no. She borrowed money from one of her little friends. It took her about ten minutes as a consumer to put herself into debt. Another parental lesson on the page headlined “Things We Really Should Have Seen Coming.”