Читать книгу Money Mammoth - Ted Klontz - Страница 47

Children are born into a world of money like fish are born into water. Children are raised in a particular socioeconomic environment and have experiences common to that environment. This becomes their reality—their type of food, clothes, transportation, school, home, and so on. As they grow older, they will become increasingly cognizant of money and its implications. They will become curious about it. They will see the value that others place on money. They will pay more and more attention to it. They will begin to notice that their experiences of money are not the same as everyone else's.

Children will learn very powerful messages about money. They receive these messages from their parents, their extended family members, their culture, their peers, and from society at large. Sometimes these messages are overt and explicit, but many times, they are much more subtle.

For example, consider the lullaby “Hush Little Baby.” Have you ever really thought about the explicit money messages this seemingly innocuous song delivers, embedded in gentle, soothing tones and oxytocin-fueled cuddles? So what does a loving parent do when your bird won't sing, your diamond ring turns out to be a fake, your mirror breaks, your mode of transportation breaks down, and you've got a stubborn goat? Don't worry, all problems can be solved with the purchase of something. Papa is going to just keep buying you stuff until you feel better.

Early in life, children develop a conceptualization of money, and their formulation will set them on a financial course. So parents have two choices. They can let children make up stories about what money is and how it is to be used with the help of social media and their peers. Or parents can consciously teach children what money is, what it does, what it can't do, how it should be used, how it can cause joy or pain, and the values they want associated with it.