How Not to Be Your Child’s ATM:
Prodigal Sons & Material Girls

Author  Nathan Dungan
Format  Hardbound, 250 pages
ISBN  0-471-25069-4
Published  2003
Publisher  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Price  $24.95 ($38.95 in Canada)

Audience: Adults with children of any age (e.g., parents, grandparents, caregivers)

Setting: Individual, family, small group with a facilitator

Scope: Acknowledges the who and what that shapes the financial habits and values of today’s young people. The first part of the book details clearly the self-interest of consumer product companies, media conglomerates, and advertising agencies and the powerful hold they have over youth and even parents. The second part of the book promotes a better alternative, offering the vision and the steps to make it a reality.

Purpose: To help parents gain confidence in their rightful roles as teachers and mentors in shaping their children’s financial habits and values. It is also to share information to help parents understand the realities of the marketplace pressures that exist.

Summary: The author focuses on the culture of spending that pulls at the heart, mind, and wallet of the rich and the poor, the young and the younger. After the reader thinks our financial society is beyond hope there is an intermission break and the second part of the book emerges with sound, practical advice for parents who are committed to overcoming marketplace pressures and the nagging of their kids. This is a quality text that builds on the basis of values, priorities, and behaviors. The “share, save, and spend” approach that is presented is clearly in alignment with our principles of A Disciple's Generous Response.

Contents:

Part One--Under the Spell of Hypnotic Consumption

1. Just Buy It!
2. The Gotta-Have-It-Now Generation
3. A Branded New World
4. The Teen Commandments
5. The Three-Headed Monster
6. Where’s the Rest of the Village?
7. Your Own Worst Enemy
   
   Part Two--A Better Way
   
8. Money See, Money Do
9. Your Money, Your Values
10. A Balanced Life----Sharing, Saving, Spending
11. A Balanced Life---Sharing
12. A Balanced Life---Saving
13. A Balanced Life---Spending
14. Raising Your Child’s Marketing IQ
15. Learning to Fly Before Leaving the Nest

Tools For Teachers: There are Money Talk questions at the end of each chapter as well as an extensive footnotes section at the end that provides detail source information for further reference. A comprehensive index is included in the final pages of the text.

Give feedback on this review and the effectiveness of this resource, or let us know if you have found a better resource.