THE best way to encourage thrift is through practical application. The following is a list of suggestions for all parents, compiled from various sources, including the financial institutions, the schools and parents.

(1) Very young children should have a piggy bank at home in order to save small value coins.

(2) Savings accounts can be opened, by law, from age seven, the age when. most education experts concede that children can understand money concepts.

(3) Children should be encouraged to save a portion of every money gift or money earned. Visits to the bank, post office, building society should be built into the weekly routine and the passbook kept in a safe place.

(4) Encourage your child to join their School Bank.

(5) While some families pay automatic weekly allowances, others prefer to make their children earn the cash, usually by fulfilling certain jobs around the home. Consistent good behaviour is sometimes rewarded by small increases or bonuses to the allowance.

(6) Good spending habits should also be encouraged. Try to teach your children about the importance of getting value for their money as well as the dangers of overspending.

(7) Discourage extravagance and emphasise the importance of keeping their bank account in order. This is especially important for teenagers with ATM cards.

(8) Include the older children in discussions about family budgets and the cost of running the household. (Budgeting is a big issue in most school money programmes.) Many teenagers are deeply interested in environmental protection issues; the parallel can be sensitively drawn about the importance of not wasting the family's financial resources by running the bath too long, leaving lights on, wasting food.

(9) Encourage generosity. Children can sometimes be extremely parsimonious and should be taught that their money can also be well spent, when it is given away to other deserving people and organisations.