One fundraising trend is a modified version of panhandling: Kids stand alongside the road and on the median, holding fishing nets typically reserved for 'oama season. Cars pull to a stop, kids implore motorists to reach into their pockets for spare change. My guess is, many drivers dig deep. I mean, who could refuse the beatific face of a 10-year-old girl hoping to make a trip to the Mainland for a national soccer tournament?

Still, I must admit, I have trouble with this. Call me old-school, but I think washing cars or selling lemonade is a great way to learn the value of a dollar. Yes, we can afford to empty our pockets for those in need. Aren't we missing a golden opportunity to teach them about business? You'd think. But then comes the story of a little girl dreaming of a shiny new bike, who decided to open up a roadside lemonade stand.

During this blistering summer, the future entrepreneur did some simple math: lemonade = liquid gold = bicycle. She was right. She identified a need, and a product that would meet that need, and promptly set up shop. Sadly, she failed to do all her research because she opened her lemonade stand right next to a diner.

Business was good. In "Field of Dreams," a voice said, "If you build it, they will come." She built it; customers came, emptying pockets and telling friends to do the same. In fact, business was so good the diner began to feel the pinch. In a moment of lapsed judgment, the diner's owner did the unspeakable: He reported her to the local Department of Health. Our little entrepreneur was operating a food concession without a license.

Within hours, the lemonade stand closed. But business has not improved for the diner; in fact, it'll soon go the way of the lemonade stand itself. It appears the little girl's customer base was displeased with the tactics.

What's a kid to do? We want to take advantage of every opportunity to help kids succeed in a world driven by business. We want to teach responsibility, hard work and the value of a dollar. But in the end, ours is a world gone mad, where a someone will "blow the whistle" on a kid working for a new bike. How do we teach our kids these important life lessons? I don't know. It is no longer business as usual.

A few nights ago, my daughter said that she wanted to open up a lemonade stand. I took her by the arm and led her to my fishing cabinet. "This, my dear, is an 'oama net," I said.

I then promptly instructed her in the fine art of panhandling.