No parent wants to knowingly raise a spoiled child. Yet in a world where money is a taboo subject, there is remarkably little guidance available about how to turn a child into the opposite. Certainly making children financially literate is a good start – so at least they understand the mechanics of money and how it works – but that still doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll make good responsible decisions. But what else can be done?
To answer this question, New York Times personal finance columnist Ron Lieber has written a new book, aptly titled “The Opposite Of Spoiled”, exploring the parenting techniques that can not only avoid spoiling a child, but can raise one to be the opposite – a child that grows up to be thrifty, modest, patient, and generous. In fact, given that being not-spoiled is basically about having “good” values, Lieber makes the case that raising fiscally responsible children is all about using money as a vehicle to teach those values.
Accordingly, Lieber’s book navigates issues from “how much should children receive as an allowance” to “should children have to do chores to get their allowance”, as well as how to guide children towards the three fundamental pillars of financial decision-making – whether to spend, to save, or to give. Ultimately, “The Opposite of Spoiled” is something of a manifesto for parents about how to introduce money conversations to children as a means to teach good values, which means it is a book that could easily become a great gift for every client who is a parent likely struggling with these issues, and is equally relevant for advisors who are parents with children of their own as well!