I have a confession to make: I wrote my first two parenting books before I had children. Is this a great country or what, where you can become an "expert" at something you have never done before (of course, I had worked with families for many years in my practice)? I now have two children [...]
The 2010-11 race season is approaching its conclusion. The Nor-Ams, J2 Nationals, and JOs have ended and the World Cup has only a few remaining races left. Many racers are heading into the final stretch of races hoping to continue a successful season of strong results, improved points and rankings, and progress toward their ski-racing [...]
I've been reluctant to write this post ever since I read an absolutely shocking story recently. In fact, my wife told me that I shouldn't write it at all as the post could be seen, at best, as insensitive and, at worst, as distasteful beyond the pale. But I have been eerily attracted to the story [...]
A former University of Colorado teammate of mine who just happens to be married to an old Burke schoolmate of mine (ski racing is such a small world!) sent me a Facebook comment yesterday asking "Is there a phenomenon called fear of success or something like that?" Well, in fact, there is, and I have [...]
In my last post, I described what I have seen as a rise in spoiled and fiscally irresponsible brats among both wealthy and less affluent families. Several commenters suggested that it's impossible to not raise spoiled brats in a moneyed family, in particular, because it is such an ever-present and influential force in these children's lives. [...]
When parents teach their children the value of money and financial responsibility, children learn one of the most important and practical lessons in preparation for adulthood. Unfortunately, these lessons aren't readily learned in our country today. Americans, with their ravenous appetites for conspicuous consumption, have never been more fiscally irresponsible. Americans, on average, carry over [...]
In my consulting practice, I work with many families, both high-net-worth and those less affluent. I am constantly amazed at how nonchalant (or even downright neglectful) the parents are in their children's fiscal education in both of these income groups. Despite the fact that many of the well-to-do parents grew up in less-affluent families themselves [...]
I know what you're thinking: "Hasn't this horse been beaten enough. Three blog posts on the same subject. This guy is seriously obsessed." Obsessed, I'm not sure, but definitely fascinated. And I guess that it has taken me three tries (no promises that this will be my last post on the subject) to distill Amy [...]
If you look at the title of my recent blog post about Amy Chua, What Chinese-American Mothers to Wrong (and Right), and the title of this piece, you may be thinking that I have Multiple Personality Disorder, excoriating her one day and expressing my affection for her the next. I have since thought more about [...]
Have you read the article on wsj.com by Amy Chua, a Chinese-American mother (and law professor at Yale)? If not, you probably don't have children. It is a must-read! I was both mesmerized and appalled by the article; like driving past a horrific car accident and wondering whether anyone survived. I realize that her article [...]