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Book Freak #45: How to Not Spoil Your Kids

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Short pieces of advice from books

If you’ve arrived here from the newsletter, here’s the link to buy The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money on Amazon.

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Ron Lieber is the “Your Money” columnist for The New York Times. Here is advice from his book, The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money.

Be aware of the four things that spoiled children have in common
“Spoiled children tend to have four primary things in common, though they don’t all have to be present at once: They have few chores or other responsibilities, there aren’t many rules that govern their behavior or schedules, parents and others lavish them with time and assistance, and they have a lot of material possessions.”

Encourage kids to ask good questions
“One way to make sure children know that questions are welcome is to praise their asking them so routinely that posing good ones becomes a habit.”

Use money as a teaching tool
“Money is central, but it is also a teaching tool that uses the value of a dollar to instill in our children the values we want them to embrace. These traits—curiosity, patience, thrift, modesty, generosity, perseverance, and perspective”

Encourage your kids to save by being their bank
“To create an exciting alternative to consumption, start a bank at your house (and on a Google spreadsheet) that pays about 20 percent in annual interest.”

-- Mark Frauenfelder 02/1/20

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