_ American Agriculturist, August 30, 1924 
Give the Child a Bank Account 
Or Rather, Encourage the Forming of Regular Habits of Thrift 
The Child’s Bank Account 
T HE boys and girls of today seem to have the 
fact of saving money impressed upon them 
more and more, and it is well that they should, 
for it seems as though the cost of living increases 
all the time. During the war big wages were 
earned and money was spent pretty freely, and 
the return to normalcy has not remedied entirely 
these reckless spending habits acquired during that 
time. So in many city schools they are trying to 
correct this situation by introducing a banking 
system to be used in all the grades to 
teach the rising generation the value of 
money and ho.w to save systematically. 
My sister, who has charge of this work 
in a large city school, says the children 
just vie with one another to see who can 
have the most to put in the bank between 
one banking day of one week and the 
same day of the following week. Even 
if they have only a penny they bring it 
and it is entered as a deposit on their 
bank-books, made out in their own 
names and kept as their own personal — 
property. 
When I was visiting my home this spring they 
had started the system in the village school there. 
It had been in operation then only two weeks, 
but it really was amusing how the children reacted 
to it. They were suddenly very willing to do 
errands, chores, etc., without number if they 
could swell their bank-account for the next 
banking day. Several children were digging 
greens and selling them at 25c a market basket. 
The younger boys and girls would tease mother 
for a penny to get some candy, only to be re¬ 
minded by an older brother or sister that too 
much candy wasn’t good for them and that if 
they wanted to beat John Smith’s bank-account 
they would have to save their money instead of 
By ELLEN ACKERMAN ELLIOT 
spending it for candy. Oh, competition is a great 
thing! It will accomplish the apparently impos¬ 
sible, sometimes. 
Practical Use of School Studies 
It was enlightening, too, to hear those young¬ 
sters talk among themselves. They were quite 
little business men and women. It helps to put 
their arithmetic to actual practise. So many boys 
and girls say “I can't see any use in studying tills 
Teaching Children to Take Care of the Pennies 
How early do children begin to understand the value of money? 
Mrs. Elliot’s experience, as set forth in her argument for the bank- 
account, indicates that the sooner they do learn to save and to 
spend wisely, the better. Although your school may not be 
ready to introduce the penny-saving system, why not start it 
in your home? Making thrift a game has proved to be a valuable 
way of training the child for adult responsibilities. 
stuff anyhow. We’ll never use it.” And they 
are the very ones to leave school as soon as they 
are sixteen, only to regret it a few years later, 
whereas if they had been saving a little each 
week from the first grade up, when they become 
16 years old they would have quite a nice little 
bank-account, and the desire to quit school to 
earn money wouldn’t be so great. In fact, when 
they realized that they could earn and save while 
in school, I believe it would encourage them to 
graduate and perhaps go on to a higher education. 
We haven’t such a system in our school, but 
it seems to me it is a grand, good thing. I have 
been in a position for a few weeks where I have 
had the opportunity to observe some other young 
boys who are beginning to earn money. Either 
they have finished high school, or else they have 
quit school to go to work, and it is positively 
wicked to see the way money just goes with some 
of them. And what a splendid idea this banking 
system is, that teaches even little first-graders 
the principle of saving toward some desired end. 
If the banking system is introduced in your 
school, think it over well before vetoing it. 
Mother May Be the Banker 
But even if there is no opportunity to join 
with other children in saving, why not 
■ start a little bank-account system in 
your own family? If there are several 
children, the competition will keep it up 
briskly, but even an “only” soon gets 
the spirit of the thing and loves to watch 
the pile grow. 
At first, especially with very little chil¬ 
dren, the stock of pennies will be so 
small that they can easily and safely he 
kept at home. This has one advantage 
in that the child can actually see his 
—— little pile grow. However, one of the 
. helpful things about actually depositing 
in a bank is the keeping of a bank-book and it 
is therefore wise to start out the youngster whose 
pennies are kept at home with a bank-book in 
which deposits and withdrawals are regularly 
entered. 
But if possible open a real account just as soon 
as the child begins to have any money of his 
own at all. Regular trips to the bank, where he 
himself puts the money in, will have a splendid in¬ 
fluence. There is the feeling of security, the inter¬ 
est, small as it is, is something to work for, and also 
the money cannot be drawn out or begged back for 
some passing whim. The routine of a bank inspires 
respect and the fact that he is really a part of it all 
(<Continued on page 138 ) 
When You Come to Fix Up the Children’s Room 
It Is Not a Catch-All for Discarded Pieces but a Place Which Repays Time and, Thought 
Y OU can tell a lot about a family when you see 
how much attention they have given to the 
rooms their children live in. It is an all-too- 
cormnon practice to just tuck the youngsters in 
anywhere, especially where house room is limited. 
Even though two children or more must occupy 
the same room, it pays to make it attractive as 
well as clean and neat. A room in which they can 
take pride develops their tastes and cultivates the 
home-making instinct. 
I saw a happy demonstration of this when on a 
visit a short time ago. One room was fitted for 
two little girls, aged 8 and 10, whose older sister, 
just returned from school, had brought with her 
some clever ideas. This room happened to be on 
the north side and the little sisters were dark¬ 
haired lassies, so the color scheme was yellow. 
The plastered walls had never been papered, so 
big sister went to work and made them light 
canary and the ceiling cream, using water-color. 
And I'll add here that the same result could be 
gotten over a foundation of any light-colored 
paper with the water-color. She used oil paint 
for the floor, of medium tan. 
This was very light and cheery but a trifle 
monotonous. But the older girl was clever with 
a pencil, so she drew out a design of a rabbit, made 
a stencil and put a frieze of brown bunnies near 
the ceiling. 
The window curtains wyre of unbleached cheese¬ 
cloth just reaching the bottom of the lower sash 
and a few bunnies were stenciled there, also. An 
old splint bottomed chair was given a coat of 
canary paint and a cushion of brown and tan, 
making a very homelike accessory. A few 
braided rugs were used on the painted floor. 
Children Take Pride in Helping 
The little girls, much enthused, had outlined 
bunnies on the dresser and table scarfs, their first 
By MRS. R. G. ARMSTRONG 
decorative efforts. When I left they were working 
on a change of covers, with an added touch of 
“Little Sister,” by Adam Emery Albright, is a charming 
example of the modern school of American artists. It has 
been reproduced in inexpensive prints and is an excellent 
subject for the child’s room. 
blue, but keeping to jonquils and daisies, to pre¬ 
serve the color scheme. 
They were already planning ahead to still 
another decorative scheme and it was surprising 
how quickly they had learned to handle brush 
and paint and needle and thread, under the in¬ 
centive of having their own room. 
Not everyone can stencil rabbits or other 
designs, but we can all use the scissors. One 
mother who could not afford the amusing nursery 
wall-paper displayed in a city store, bought a 
small piece of it for the Mother Goose figures it 
contained. After father had finished the walls 
with washable paint, she cut out Peter Piper, Miss 
Muffet and the other beloved figures and pasted 
them in a frieze around the walls. When the 
children grew older and the walls needed another 
coat of paint, she used a conventional flower 
design in the same way and this time she tried the 
experiment of pasting a narrow line of gay rose¬ 
buds down the sides and hem of white voile 
curtains. These were kept for “best” as the 
paper naturally washed off, but it was not hard to 
renew and the growing daughter loved to help 
cut out and paste. Another pair of curtains of 
rose-checked gingham proved very useful and 
extremely pretty, and a bureau scarf to match 
was soon added. 
The problem of training children to keep their 
rooms neat and “picked up” is never so hard 
when the room is one worth the effort. On the 
other hand, furniture or hangings that must be 
treated respectfully are out of place in a child's 
room. Plain, serviceable articles, kept freshly 
painted and in order, a few good pictures, and 
floor coverings that can easily be taken up and 
cleaned are most suitable for the child’s room. 
And don’t forget in the pleasure of fixing it up, to 
give the child some say in the matter. It will 
help make the room, and the home too, doubly 
dear if the youngster’s taste has been consulted 
(and probably skillfully guided • in working out 
the plans. * 
