THERE has been much made recently of the pronouncements of well-known people like chef Gordon Ramsay on not letting their children inherit their wealth.

It’s a healthy debate and one where many of us stand firmly on the side of acknowledging the damage that giving children money, rather than letting them earn it, can bring.

I always loved the words of newspaper owner Eddie Shah who, when asked by his son if they were rich, replied: “No son. Your mother and I are rich. You children are poor.”

Now I know that, for many people, the idea of being able to leave sizeable sums of money to their children is a source of great personal pride. If they have worked hard to ensure that their children may have an easier road in life then why shouldn’t they leave it to them?

It’s a very personal choice but, unfortunately, one that seems to have resulted to some extent in generations of scroungers and layabouts who use Daddy’s Money to enjoy a comfortable but very definite road to hell. It seems that only the odd exception has made a fortune into a much greater fortune by virtue of genuine second generation hard work.

Very often these days, parents are called on to get their children out of a financial hole, to bail them out with rent or hard cash. That has happened for decades – centuries probably – and it is the way of the world. Parents, for the most part, are happy to be there for their children when it matters and see it as just another parental requirement.

However, by not teaching our children how difficult money is to come by, by not allowing them to make the connection between hard work and what the results of it buys and doesn’t buy, we are denying our children the chance to learn a simple lesson about the real value of money.

If money is easy come, easy go, or young people are encouraged to always get what they want then and there and worry about paying for it later, they will never respect money.

And if they don’t respect money they will never have any.

The best possible “legacy” we can ever give our children is the hard work ethic.

If they are prepared to work in whatever they do they will reap the rewards, and it will all feel so much sweeter.