The Opposite Of Spoiled

The Opposite Of Spoiled shows you how to raise financially conscious children, who learn the value of money early on by leading an open dialogue about money, giving them responsibility and teaching them patience.

What’s the most annoying thing about young people and teenagers today? Come on, you can say it, I won’t be mad. Would you say it’s that they’re stupid? Disrespectful? Egoistic? The most common answer to that question wraps up all of them into one: they’re spoiled.

In our minds, the word “spoiled” is almost directly connected with the word “money,” but Ron Lieber says the two actually have fairly little to do with one another.

Here are the four factors that spoil kids:

Having no chores, tasks, or responsibility to other people. Having no rules to follow or guidelines and schedules to stick to. Being given way too much attention by their parents. Having many material possessions.

Just that last one is about money. If you think about these in your own childhood, you’ll quickly see why you have the financial habits you have now.

Personally, I had to re-fill the water in our house, make my own bed, vacuum my own room and some other basic things. I was punished (but not heavily) for breaking rules, learned how to entertain myself (I’m an introvert anyways), but did have lots of material possessions. I think that got me about 60% of the way there – what I had to learn later was that it takes time and patience to earn the money to buy something you want.

So how can you avoid these with your own children?

First of all by not sweeping the topic of money under the rug altogether. One of the great things of doing something online is that it teaches you the value of transparency. I wouldn’t mind sharing any of the financial details of my life, in fact, I often have. At the very least, you should be open and honest about it to your children. When they ask you how much you earn, don’t say “enough,” because you’re embarrassed or scared they might talk to their friends about it. Instead, ask them why they want to know – maybe they’re afraid you’ll move houses or want to buy something for a friend in need. Just give honest answers and start a discussion about money with them. And since children often can’t grasp the magnitude of numbers, don’t stop there. Show them how much things cost, like your electricity bill or monthly car payment, and ask them what they think of financial decisions you’re about to make. An especially helpful exercise is to ask your kids to guess the value of…