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As much as we want to deny it, finances do have a huge say in the kind of life your child will have when they grow up. A person’s financial status decides when resources are available to them, what doors can be opened and what remains shut. But for your way to make your kids financially stable and responsible, you might just be doing the opposite. Many parents want their children to have easy going futures, a career that is successful, stable income and a happy life. So they raise their kids in a generic way that they think will garner these results. However, since the world has been changing at a rapid pace the age old tricks of success are no longer effective. So instead of helping your kid’s chances of success you may be unintentionally hurting them. So what are some things that you may be doing that might cause money problems in the future for your grown up child? If you’d like to know then keep on reading!
1. Forcing Your Child To Make A Decision About Their Future Career
Don’t get us wrong, having a plan and some idea as to what your interests and strengths are and what you’d like to pursue in the future is great. But as you grow those things change and you must be flexible and open to new career paths. The idea that a person is supposed to have one job their entire life is likely to fail, especially in today’s day and age where there is so much crossover between various fields.
The worst thing you can do as a parent is make your child make concrete decisions about the kind of career they must pursue simply because you see it as a stable and successful field. They may not be as lucrative as you thought they might be and your child may not find success in these fields simply because they lack the knack and interest for it. So not only will they have huge amounts of student debts to clear but they will be stuck in a job that they hate and have no hope of finding success in. Instead allow your child to explore their options and have multiple hobbies that they can bank on as they age and grow.
2. Teaching Your Kids To Save Money At All Costs
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Now, no one likes a spendthrift child. And of course it is important to teach your kids the value of money. Just as it is important to teach your kids to invest in themselves when necessary. The world isn’t as stable and certain as it was yesterday so having just one area of expertise may not be enough to survive in the uncertain future. This is why it is important to allow your child to have a wide range of skills. They need to learn to be flexible and adapt to change instead of just saving up money. Remember, the best investment you can make is an investment on your skills and your knowledge.
3. Using Successful People As An Example
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Tiger Woods was the exception, not the rule and yet a whole new type of parenting (Tiger parents) emerged because of his 10 thousand hour philosophy. Every generation has a list of people who they look up to. These people are influential, wealthy and usually started from nothing. But while it may look like we can just learn about their life path and become happy, things don’t work like that for some reason. Otherwise, all the people who read their books would’ve already solved all their money problems. Be it Elon Musk or Jeff Bazos, your kid isn’t going to get successful simply by replicating everything they did. What might have worked for one person may not necessarily work for another. So it’s important to teach your kids that they are on their own path.
4. Showing Them The Struggles Of Adult Life
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Honestly may be the best policy but it is not your child’s job to bear the burden of your financial struggles. There’s nothing wrong with explaining your situation to your kids and them seeing you stressed or sad from time to time but if this is all they see, it’s a problem. In this situation, the roles in the family shift, and the child tries to become the “rock” for their parents. Kids also see how difficult adult life is and they might start to be afraid of growing up as a consequence of this. This may diminish their chances of being confident and self assured later on in life.
Raising kids isn’t always easy, especially when all you want for them is to be successful and happy. But these are the pitfalls that you must avoid on your journey to teaching your kids to be financially secure. Happy parenting!
