I’ve experienced this lasting impact in my life as I’ve transitioned from childhood to young adulthood. At a young age, I was taught to give ten percent of the money I earned as a charitable donation. As a result, I’ve come to value generosity, and thanks to my parents’ loving guidance, I continue to practice this financial habit on my own. My experience is similar to what Collis and Laursen discovered to be a common occurrence. They describe how even though direct parental influence in a child’s life gradually declines, the values that parents instill tend to remain (as cited in Shim et alt., 1459). Even though teaching financial lessons may sometimes appear to be a vain effort, young children are more receptive than parents often realize. Researchers, Caruana and Vassallo, discuss how “parents have the ability to influence their children’s monetary habits when they are at an impressionable age” (qtd. in McNeill and Turner, 123). During a child’s early years, they are working to develop their values and learning to understand the world. Parents should take advantage of the opportunity to influence children by both word and example during this teachable time. There are rather unfortunate, yet avoidable results that arise when parents neglect this responsibility. For example, Grinstein-Weiss and fellow researchers reported that less parental teaching as a child corresponded to a greater chance of home foreclosure in the future (266). This implies that parental teaching (or the lack of it) really does make a difference and that the effects reach beyond
I’ve experienced this lasting impact in my life as I’ve transitioned from childhood to young adulthood. At a young age, I was taught to give ten percent of the money I earned as a charitable donation. As a result, I’ve come to value generosity, and thanks to my parents’ loving guidance, I continue to practice this financial habit on my own. My experience is similar to what Collis and Laursen discovered to be a common occurrence. They describe how even though direct parental influence in a child’s life gradually declines, the values that parents instill tend to remain (as cited in Shim et alt., 1459). Even though teaching financial lessons may sometimes appear to be a vain effort, young children are more receptive than parents often realize. Researchers, Caruana and Vassallo, discuss how “parents have the ability to influence their children’s monetary habits when they are at an impressionable age” (qtd. in McNeill and Turner, 123). During a child’s early years, they are working to develop their values and learning to understand the world. Parents should take advantage of the opportunity to influence children by both word and example during this teachable time. There are rather unfortunate, yet avoidable results that arise when parents neglect this responsibility. For example, Grinstein-Weiss and fellow researchers reported that less parental teaching as a child corresponded to a greater chance of home foreclosure in the future (266). This implies that parental teaching (or the lack of it) really does make a difference and that the effects reach beyond