Letting kids waste their allowances is an incredibly useful tactic. My parents gave me an allowance, then carefully audited every purchase and refused to let m

Letting kids waste their allowances is an incredibly useful tactic. My parents gave me an allowance, then carefully audited every purchase and refused to let me spend it on things they didn't think were good value. Which is 1) a waste of their time 2) frustrating for the kid and 3) utterly defeats the purpose, because I never got to learn restraint or budgeting, and it bit me on the ass when I was in my early 20s.