Can Our Kids Benefit From This Lousy Economy?

Lets face it. Almost every American has suffered in some way since the economy tanked. We also been told that “It is going to get worse before it gets better” and “things will never really be the same again” Naturally, moms like me, start thinking about what this really means for our kids. Well, I have some rare good news to report! There are some very definite “positives” that I see already.

There has been a mental shift. While it originated in fear and anxiety, the result is that many of us have gotten of the rat race of “MORE” and “BETTER” and “BIGGER” and “been there, done that, so what is next?” People took stock of their situations and realized that they feel lucky if they can just stay exactly where they are at for a long time. After the initial shock of that, I think that people’s behavior has started to change. We are spending more time at home, with our families. We cut out spending on things that are not really necessary, and putting our resources into our kids education and things that will benefit us long term. We are playing cards and board games instead of going to the Mall. We are eating more meals at home, with our families, probably talking to them a lot more too! We stopped keeping up with Joneses. The Joneses have their own worries. Since we are not planning vacations, looking at the next car we want to buy etc, we may just be less distracted by things that aren’t really all that important anyway. Parents that are there, both literally and mentally, are GOOD FOR KIDS.

If we are ditching the “More” mind set, we are likely going to replace that with the ‘Saving for a rainy day” concept! That is a line we haven’t heard people say in a long time. Those folks who lived “beneath their means”(the rare few) surely aren’t looking so dumb right about now. Teaching kids how to “wait” a long time for something they want instead of automatically getting it on their birthday, is not cruel and unusual punishment! In fact it is GREAT for them!

Tom Brokaw wrote about “The Greatest Generation’ which were those who grew up during the Great Depression. yet by hard work and delayed gratification, turned America into a superpower. Clearly, the hard times they endured created people with great tenacity and character. Maybe these hard times will help shape our kids in some extraordinary ways too.