I believe that one of my jobs in life is to teach Daisy about money. I have not developed a plan about this yet, but I try to take advantage of "teachable moments."

Daisy is a typical eight year old girl. She's very creative and balks a bit at routine. She'll tell you she doesn't like math in that dramatic way that only an eight year old girl can do. Nevertheless, partly due to diligence in teaching and partly due to the math program we use, Daisy has a pretty good foundation in math.

Yesterday Daisy and I went to Starbucks. The total of our drinks and snacks came to $7.19. As I was pulling out the cash Daisy said, "You can give her eight dollars." The cashier heard what she said, took my eight dollars and asked Daisy how much change I should get back.

Daisy thought, and the cashier waited patiently.

"90. . . no that's not right. . . 81 cents."

"Keep it up and you'll be a good cashier," said the cashier.

That's my girl! I can see the irony in teaching her to figure out correct change and teaching her undesirable spending habits simultaneously. . . but at least she can make change.