Synopses & Reviews
Most parents do more harm than good when they try to teach their children about money. They make saving seem like a punishment, and force their children to view reckless spending as their only rational choice. To most kids, a savings account is just a black hole that swallows birthday checks.
David Owen, a New Yorker staff writer and the father of two children, has devised a revolutionary new way to teach kids about money. In The First National Bank of Dad, he explains how he helped his own son and daughter become eager savers and rational spenders. He started by setting up a bank of his own at home and offering his young children an attractively high rate of return on any amount they chose to save. "If you hang on to some of your wealth instead of spending it immediately," he told them, "in a little while, you'll be able to double or even triple your allowance." A few years later, he started his own stock market and money-market fund for them.
Most children already have a pretty good idea of how money works, Owen believes; that's why they are seldom interested in punitive savings schemes mandated by their parents. The first step in making children financially responsible, he writes, is to take advantage of human nature rather than ignoring it or futilely trying to change it.
"My children are often quite irresponsible with my money, and why shouldn't they be?" he writes. "But they are extremely careful with their own." The First National Bank of Dad also explains how to give children real experience with all kinds of investments, how to foster their charitable instincts, how to make them more helpful around the house, how to set their allowances, and how to help them acquire a sense of value that goes far beyond money. He also describes at length what he feels is the best investment any parent can make for a child -- an idea that will surprise most readers.
Review
"Lively and entertaining, filled with self-deprecating humor, anecdotes, insights, and clear explanations." -- USA Today
Review
"Saving money . . . should be the child's choice. For an idea that might get your kids to a nest egg voluntarily, take a look at David Owen's book The First National Bank of Dad." -- Jane Bryant Quin, Newsweek
Review
"When your children grow up, few things will affect their lives as much as the presence or absence of money. Unfortunately, most teachers and parents devote little systematic attention to teaching them how to live their economic lives. Start with this enjoyable book for some excellent suggestions." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Review
"This is a terrific little book that could completely change the way many parents think about children and money." -- Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Taking a position that parents may do more harm than good when teaching their children about money, bestselling author Owen demonstrates that even very young children have an understanding of elementary economics. He has devised a system that provides instructions to encourage children to become eager savers, careful spenders, and rational investors.
Synopsis
Every parent wants to raise financially responsible children, but often, any efforts to teach kids about money are doomed from the start. As David Owen learned with his own daughter and son, parents who take a traditional approach to talking about money will find that their children learn all the fiscal restraint of an Enron executive.
So Owen devised a novel approach: he established the Bank of Dad, offering simple terms and generous incentives for saving, and then stepped aside and gave his young children the freedom to use their money as they wanted. Instead of blowing it all on candy and toys, they developed a strong sense of financial discipline and responsibility. As they grew older, he added a stock exchange to the Bank of Dad to broaden their understanding of investing.
It sounds complicated, but it's not. His kids will have to work for a living someday, but they are well armed to meet their financial needs and responsibilities. They are avid savers; they know how to balance their checkbooks; they understand the principles of investing in stocks and bonds.
The First National Bank of Dad is a highly accessible guide that offers excellent financial tips for any family and shows readers just how to implement this unusual and innovative plan in their own households.
About the Author
David Owen plays in a weekly foursome, takes mulligans off the first tee, practices intermittently at best, wore a copper wristband because Steve Ballesteros said so, and struggles for consistency even though his swing is consistent -- just mediocre. He is a staff writer for The New Yorker, a contributing editor to Golf Digest, and a frequent contributor to The Atlantic Monthly. His other books include The First National Bank of Dad, The Chosen One, The Making of the Masters, and My Usual Game. He lives in Washington, Connecticut.
Table of Contents
Contents CHILDREN AND MONEY: AN INTRODUCTION
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF DAD
RESPONSIBILITY AND CONTROL
ALLOWANCES
BEANIE BABY ECONOMICS
THE DAD STOCK EXCHANGE
TRUE NET WORTH
THE BEST INVESTMENT YOU CAN MAKE FOR YOUR CHILDREN
THE ULTIMATE PAYOFF