Youth & Education - Dr. Frances Mills-Yerger [CITYSunTimes January 2010]

Frances Mills-Yerger, Ph.D. is a retired marriage and family therapist and is the founder, facilitator and program director of Workshops for Youth and Family based in Scottsdale, where she inspires confidence-building character through workshops.
For information, visit orho.org or call 480.882.6011.

Life Lessons That Will Pay Off

Learning how to spend, save and grow your money effectively is a critical life skill. The following tips could help parents boost their child’s financial IQ:

Get Them Involved – Take your son shopping and talk to him about the items you purchase. Explain how you decide if something is worth buying and why you might choose one product over another.

Open The Books – Let your daughter watch you pay bills and manage your money. Explain where your money comes from and how it is spent.

Cash In – Consider giving child a weekly allowance to be used on certain activities or items that she values. Be sure she saves at least 10 percent of what you give her each week.

Explain Credit – Talk to your son about credit and spending. Explain that credit is not free money but a loan that needs to be repaid.

For more information, visit ing-usafoundation.com.

CST logo

CITYSunTimes Web Exclusives January 2010
Read the full SECTION

YOUTH & EDUCATION

You Can’t Have Everything

By Frances Mills-Yerger, Ph.D.

child and mother

Many of today’s children think they are entitled to get what they want. All one must do is walk around a local toy store to find kids overindulged as they beg, negotiate, guilt or whine for the latest object to make them “happy.” Influenced by the media, they are bombarded with images of pampered teens and young adults who drive BMWs. Although parents are facing the largest economic downturn in recent history, kids are living the high life simply because many parents are unable to say no.
In recent years, children and young adults have been inundated with examples of excess on television, in magazines and even on personal computers and high tech cell phones. These devices regularly show young people who always have the best; they wear the best clothes, drive the best cars and attend the best events. There is a constant display of surplus. The media focus on excess has created a “keeping up with the Jones’s” mentality among youth culture. Parents, who follow that same mentality, model for their family that getting what’s “in” no matter what the cost creates self-esteem and happiness.
Many of the youth entertainment shows have abandoned programming that models middle class family life. Programs that are attracting the youth audience focus on children being raised with abnormal amounts of freedom and power at home and having extravagant lifestyles with no parents ever present. Kids rarely witness normal parental interaction or family interaction in modest settings, which is a reality in most Americans’ lives. With media entertaining and influencing our youth, more than ever parents must be the core teachers of character, reality and common sense.

Young people need to learn about the reality of financial strain and learn to participate in tightening the “financial belt.”

In our current economy, many parents are struggling just to hold on financially to meet their responsibilities. Parents must teach their kids that in real life, they can’t have everything. Young people need to learn about the reality of financial strain and learn to participate in tightening the “financial belt.” A dose of real reality as opposed to the “reality” television youth often see can be a viable tool in countering kids’ propensity toward pampering.

YOUTH & EDUCATION Web Exclusives | CITYSunTimes January 2010