It’s important to give your child increasing responsibility in handling money, but parents should always set standards – and stick to them.

Many parents give their children money with no accountability, making the cash a windfall and teaching the kids nothing about setting priorities. This is the path to financial irresponsibility.

Start by setting standards for purchases, especially clothes. Discuss what’s acceptable and unacceptable with your children. Define what’s permissible at school, home and on weekends.

“Make it clear that t-shirts with profanity are unacceptable,” says Linda Leitz, founder of Pinnacle Financial Concepts in Colorado Springs, Colorado and author of The Ultimate Parenting Map to Money Smart Kids. “The fact that your kids have their own money doesn’t mean they can buy things that conflict with parental controls. That means no skirts that don’t meet the school dress code.”

You have to wonder about parents who let their children buy t-shirts with bongs, marijuana leaves or not-so-subtle sexual innuendo. Part of being a kid, especially a teenager, is shocking the delicate sensibilities of your elders. Kids routinely thumb their nose at what they see as rampant and quite possibly terminal fuddy-duddyism.

While such shenanigans are an important step as kids define themselves as they grow up, smart parents draw a distinction between a child’s need for adolescent rebellion and promoting dead-end, self-destructive behavior.

Setting standards for taste shouldn’t be confused with setting standards for quality. Matters of taste reflect the values you want to pass on to your child. Discussions about quality are a chance for your child to learn the basics about the wise use of money.

Starting with your child’s first buying decisions, discuss the pros and cons of the item. If appropriate, raise the question of quality. Point out the pitfalls, but leave the final decision to your child. This is tough for many parents: Sometimes, you’ve got to let your kid find a hole and fall in it.

If your child is in elementary school and a prized toy breaks after a few days of use, take the time to discuss it. Tell your kid that popular doesn’t necessarily mean good. Try to fix the item, but if it’s beyond repair, do not replace it because that undercuts everything that you’re trying to teach. If you let your child live with a bad decision, you can bet that a better choice will be made next time.

Keep all discussions simple, accusation-free and pegged to your child’s age. Ask questions and make suggestions – don’t hurl thunderbolts from the mountaintop.

In addition, think about your kid’s expenditures on food. It’s hard for most kids to stay away from hamburgers, fries and all that stuff. The great thing about being a kid is that most can eat such junk – at least in moderation – and not show it. Set limits for your kid. Make it clear that a steady diet of junk food isn’t healthy – and is very expensive. This will help your child set spending priorities.

“Many children, especially the young, have an inability to think forward,” says Leitz. “But they quickly learn that if they spend their money on an ice cream cone at the mall today, they won’t have that money for something special tomorrow. Kids become very aware of money when they’re held accountable.”

Click here to see Five Rules For Accountability.