Parents, Kids, and Money
By Keith Bunn Jr.
I chose this subject because I have seen a trend in the younger generation that, in my opinion, is the parents fault. The parents of today, for the most part, had it pretty good when they were kids. It was around the time when the designer jeans and the Nike shoes came out, and if you didn’t have any of those, you weren’t “somebody”. As we got older, those “wants” and the need to “look good” in other peoples’ eyes got bigger. It has even gotten to the point where we have past the belief on down to our children, which is, if we don’t have the biggest and newest thing out there, then we’re not cool. You don’t believe me? Look at the lines outside the stores when a new Apple product comes out or a new gaming system. I don’t see any old people in those lines.
Then when families across the nation started to feel the economic crunch during this recession, some of our children started to display signs of entitlement. That they deserved to have the things that they had before and that is just not true. Why do you think the credit card companies do what is called “Kiddy Branding”. Where they help fund products like Cool Shopping Barbie (which is off the market now) and games like Life and Monopoly that now have versions of using credit cards to play the games where in the past it was cash. This goes even further; teens turning 18 or going into college are their number one targets. As proof, my step-son started to get credit card offers as soon as he turned 18.
As parents, we need to protect our children from these types of predators and they are predators. We need to teach our kids that it is who they are, what their character and values are that matters, and not some article of clothing, gadget, or what someone they don’t even know may think of them. We need to teach them that money is finite. We will only get so much of it in our lifetime and the only way to get more than others is to manage it better, which means, live with in your means and don’t go into debt. I like the 10, 10, 80 method when it comes to our gross household finances. 10% for tithing/giving, 10% into savings, & 80% to live off of. If you did just that, you’d be doing far better that most people in this country. This is the kind of stuff we need to be teaching our kids and obviously the younger they are when we start teaching them the better. Because let me tell you what could happen if we don’t teach them. When they get older, old enough to be out on their own, they will not be able to handle the pressure of living out on their own and get into a ton of debt, or they will become so dependent on you, the parents, that they will never leave home. In either case, in my opinion, this is abuse by the parents by not teaching them how to become productive citizens.
I know that I’ve probably stepped on some people’s toes by telling them what they should be teaching their kids, but if we as parents don’t do it, who will?
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” - Proverbs 22:6 -
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