I am baffled on a daily basis when I watch the way kids I work with handle money. Most have no clue how much they have or where their money even is. Some have way more money than one would think a kid needed for a day at school. What could they possibly need besides lunch and maybe a snack? As with many other things I notice about my young clients is that they live in one of two extremes: either they have too much money and care not about from where it came or they don't have any money and care too much about its' origin. Once again I ask myself the politically incorrect question I always ask myself: "What are their parents thinking?!" I am sure that there are plenty of parents out there who do their best to teach their offspring the value of money and control how much they have as well as not projecting their own financial worries on to their children. The problem I notice is that there are also plenty of parents out there who are not so conscientious.
Some parents call me and want to know what they should do to consequence their kid for bad behavior and I always tell them to hit 'em in the pocket book yet they don't. These very kids still show up at school with big bucks and brand new stuff that I don't even buy for myself. On the other extreme I have kids who bring their parents' financial worries with them to school. It is one thing to teach your child the value of money and to make them earn what they get and it is another to let them in on the financial hardships of the household.
Parents, it is time to strike a balance. Good for you if you are recession proof but you still need to be aware of how much money your kid has and what they are doing with it. I would also recommend that you hit them with some reality and make them earn what they get. Food and shelter are a given but they will survive fine with out the newest electronic gaget - they will - I promise. And those of you who are feeling the financial drag or our economy and worry every day about the future, please leave your kid out of it and let them be a kid, they have enough to worry about.
Comments