We must raise kids to earn money, not idolize it. Here's how. | Opinion

We are raising a generation with little understanding of how to build financial mindsets both for independence and a flourishing adult life.

According to recent research, nearly 9 in 10 parents want financial independence for their children. But fewer than 2 in 5 have discussed family finances with them, and about half still find themselves supporting adult children financially.

We worry endlessly about our children’s future – about their education, their careers, their emotional well-being. Yet in one of the most important areas of life, we often leave them unprepared. And as a result, we are raising a generation with little understanding of how to build financial mindsets both for independence and a flourishing adult life.

The first mindset children need is an understanding that money is a means, not an end. Kids today grow up in a culture of comparison, status and endless consumption. Social media surrounds them with curated displays of wealth. Advertisers bombard them with the message that happiness is purchased. Without intervention, children absorb the belief that the goal of money is simply more money.

But when money becomes the goal, the pursuit never ends. Kids who grow up believing that money is a measure of worth often become adults who are perpetually dissatisfied, always reaching for a higher income, a bigger house, a flashier car – never quite arriving at the elusive state of “enough.”

A healthier mindset begins with teaching children that money is valuable precisely because of what it allows them to do: Build skills, enjoy meaningful experiences, help others and create lives of purpose.