ABSTRACT
The relationship between the development of a functional saving ability and improvement on the board game could be seen in the fact that older children were no better at predicting actual levels of sweet purchase than younger children. This chapter describes three experiments in which children attempted to solve this type of income constraint problem in a play economy. First experiment is the child must understand the inclusive nature of economic actions, and so realise that choices are made not between spending and not spending but between spending now and spending in the future. Second experiment is the child must develop a realistic understanding of his or her own abilities to save in the face of the range of problems economic life brings. Last experiment is the child must develop a realistic understanding of the role of strategy as an aid to solving the difficult problem of providing for the future.
