Re: this thread's title
If I had any kids (thank $DEITY I don't), I would say $50.00 is a small sum, and if it could be spent extremely wisely, it could lead to a lifetime of dividends.
My own parents spent a ton of money on my education - for me, it was STEM stuff all the time (though the acronym didn't exist at the time, I don't think). It started with Lego, Tinkertoys, and other building kits. It progressed to programmable toys (such as my Milton Bradley Big Trak - I still have that one!), then morphed over time to my interest in computers and electronics (TRS-80 Color Computer and 150-in-1 Electronics Kit - yeah, my parents shopped a lot at Radio Shack).
Now I'm here - on these and other forums, and my career has been in software development.
Since my parents have passed away, I managed to find many of the receipts for my computer and peripherals of my youth (all of which I still own, all of which still work OK) - I am floored as to how much they spent (considering inflation and what my dad made as a county construction worker); I am both humbled and eternally indebted to them for their efforts (I made sure they were aware of this once I was old enough to really understand).
So - $50.00? For any real parent worthy of the title, the real question should be "Why so little?". Applying to investment in Arduino components? So long as the child has the interest, I can't think of much else it could be better spent on (besides books and other things to go along with the STEM theme, of course)...
