New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote what he called a “blunt” and “politically incorrect truth” about global poverty:

It’s that if the poorest families spent as much money educating their children as they do on wine, cigarettes and prostitutes, their children’s children’s prospects would be transformed.

He told about one Congolese family that is eight months behind on its $6 per month rent and is unable to pay for mosquito netting ($6 each) or the $2.50 per month school tuition for each of their three school-age children. But the parents do spend $10 per month on cell phone expenses, and the father does drink several times weekly at a cost of about $1 per night.

What solutions would you suggest to protect children from the ill-advised financial choices of their fathers and mothers?