Prodigal Sons and Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Childs ATM

Part expose and part survival guide, Prodigal Sons and Material Girls addresses the nagging issue faced by many parents today – why do their children have.
Table of contents

I am trying to teach good financial habits to my three young children.

When they come shopping with me we talk about the things that our family "needs" versus our "wants. Dugan's philosophy of grouping values and financial habits together, something I think people in financial straits don't realize. I've had extended family members approach me from time to time, asking for help in teaching them how to budget, etc.

This book is a great reference that I will recommend to those who are struggling and to those who aren't, but need reaffirmation. Let me be the first to say I too am part of the problem; I've indulged my child and mis-taught my son with illusions that spending is happiness. Dungan shows us how to take back that stewardship and how not to abdicate our child-rearing responsibility about spending and what to do to raise wise-spending young adults.

About Nathan Dungan

I have a few years to try to undo whatever harm I may have wrought. Of course, it's hard to rectify a bad habit once started, so I envy those of you who get to Nathan's book early. Dungan for writing such a sage, concise prescription for our self-inflicted woes: This is the best book on the subject of Finances for the parents of children of all ages. I highly recommend this book for sound advice on teaching financial responsibility to parents and children alike.

Prodigal Sons and Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Child's ATM

Nathan Dungan's philosophy for teaching children to be responsible with money has its roots in a church program he designed at the behest of a friend. Dumbfounded that the kids in Sunday School hadn't thought about the possibility that money could be shared, he developed an approach to financial literacy focused on Sharing, Spending and Saving.

Many parents will identify with the profiles and stories of kids who ask for and are given too much. These same parents will likely be depressed by the evidence Dungan presents surrounding the influence of advertising, promotion and media on kids' inability to distinguish between wants and needs. Dungan offers solutions to these problems, providing parents with the ammunition to stop the madness and, not only to teach, but to lead by example.

Dungan acknowledges that its difficult for any parent to run counter to prevailing cultural imperatives to buy more, more, MORE. The tools he offers in this book should help make the job much easier for the committed parent.

Nathan Dungan

This is a very practical book- it gives specific steps to help your kids become more responsible with money and stay away from financial trouble. It also gives references about useful websites to improve financial literacy and further reading. I'm very glad I got this book. I need it to improve my communication with my 2 daughters 5 and 7 about these vital topics.

While Nathan Dungan makes a good case that our culture is becoming more and more materialistic and there is more and more pressure on kids to conspicuously consume, I think that he spends too much time making the case. I bought the book precisely because I was concerned about instilling sound financial values in my own children, so I think he didn't need to spend well over half the book convincing me that it's something to be concerned about.

Don't get me wrong, there are specific suggestions and exercises some of which I plan on impleenting , and discussion topics for dialogs with your kids, just not to the level I was expecting. There are also plenty of anecdotes about what other families have done, both good and bad, but I'm always a little uncomfortable with "advice by anecdote" vs. There are plenty of citations, and I may be wrong, but it seemed to me that most of the citations regarded the impact of our materialistic society and the current state of affairs with young people getting into financial trouble, rather than studies regarding specific advice and how kids react to the peer pressure and financial environment.

Also, a lot was said about peer pressure, and a lot was said about not caving in to it, but not a lot was said about helping kids cope with it in their daily lives. In the end, I suppose this is a very difficult subject to write about. Every family situation is different, with different levels of income and affluence.

Even if I can afford to buy certain things for my kids, where do I draw the line? The world is certainly different than the world I grew up in, but I think it's unrealistic to say "this was how it is when I grew up, so you should live in that world too.

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See all 7 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published on August 16, Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway. Prodigal Sons and Material Girls: Set up a giveaway. There's a problem loading this menu right now. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Be the first to ask a question about Prodigal Sons and Material Girls. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Apr 06, Laurie rated it liked it.

I was hoping for a good book to help me with educating my teenage son about money. Half the book explains why our children expect so much to be given to them, without having to work for any of it. This half was interesting, but not entirely useful. The other half was about reviewing our own financial issues, how to improve, and how to transfer good habits to our children.

I think I would have rated this higher had I read this when my son was younger. Although the book was still interesting and s I was hoping for a good book to help me with educating my teenage son about money.


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Although the book was still interesting and somewhat helpful, it is most ideal if you have young kids and can start them with good financial habits right away. Mar 31, Stacey rated it liked it. Although it's written from a religious standpoint, I found the information very practical and applicable.

The one area I didn't agree with completely was on the need for as much donation as they claim for children. Having said that, I still do follow the basic principles of this book for our kids spend, save, donate. I used to have 3 piggy banks, one for each component. Now we keep track of the money on a spreadsheet on the computer to help the kids learn more about a banking type of approach.

Sep 07, Eric Nelson rated it really liked it Shelves: Phenomenal work that helps readers see the insidiousness of consumer society by focusing on its impact on children and young adults.

Education Update - Prodigal Sons & Material Girls: How Not To Be Your Child’s ATM

With mind-blowing statistics, good insight, and great questions at the end of each chapter, this book is a great place to start when looking at our consumer culture. Unfortunately, our market-driven society changes so quickly, this book is slowing becoming outdated. May 30, Katja added it. Jan 19, Leslie rated it it was amazing. A great way to get started thinking about money and your kids. Jun 08, Michelle rated it it was ok Shelves: Good ideas, but bad writing.


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Maria rated it liked it Sep 11, Marnie rated it really liked it Apr 02, Amy rated it really liked it Apr 03, Kaye nolan rated it really liked it Mar 12, Added to Your Shopping Cart. Through insightful anecdotes and simple exercises, you will learn how to: Permissions Request permission to reuse content from this site. Table of contents Foreword. A Branded New World. The Three Headed Monster. Where's the Rest of the Village?