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In this issue: Adopting money-smart social media norms, teaching kids about investing from an owner’s perspective and replacing outdated financial “memes”. “Working to help parents raise money-smart kids.” 3 Ideas to Share & Save Hello, friends, As we reflect on the sacrifices made by countless soldiers this Memorial Day, I want to share some ideas that honor what they fought for by helping us build a better future for our kids. — 1 — Anxious for Change: Jonathan Haidt, a renowned psychologist, discusses his new book, The Anxious Generation, on the Conversations with Tyler Podcast. Haidt argues that social media has been a key factor in the decline of our kids’ mental health since 2012. (This trend particularly impacts middle school tweens.) So he proposes 4 norms to help mitigate these effects: 1️⃣ No smartphones before high school 2️⃣ No social media before 16 3️⃣ Phone-free schools 4️⃣ More independence, free play and responsibility in the real world Personally, I’ve seen the effects of the “collective action” problem. Our 11-year-old argued that she needed a phone because most of her friends were already on Instagram. Many parents face this same predicament, underscoring the need for collective change. Keeping our kids off social media begins with the big players, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok, implementing age-gating that works. Our daughter and her friends had no problems opening social media accounts when they were younger than the current 13-year-old threshold. I don’t think it’s okay that a 13-year-old can enter into a contract without parental consent, and I’m guessing you don’t either. So I like Haidt’s idea of pushing the minimum age to 16 coupled with holding Meta and TikTok responsible for properly age-gating. Currently, these companies are doing basically nothing. There are even 5-year-olds on their platforms. Of course, this thinking aligns with our collective goal here — raising money-smart kids. Younger children are less able to sift through social media messages and marketing. (Hey, it’s tough enough for adults!) Adopting Haidt’s norms and perhaps adding a fifth, to educate our kids on media savvy, would go a long way toward helping us reach our money-smart goals. — 2 — Owner’s Mentality: Selling shares of Amazon and Apple in the late 1990’s were some of the less informed decisions I made as an investor. 🤦🏻♂️ Looking back, I wish I’d had a copy of Jason Zweig’s book Your Money & Your Brain. In it he says: “Investing returns are not symmetrical. You can’t lose more than 100% of an investment. The upside, though, is infinite. Selling winners rather than losers too soon will hurt your overall returns more. The paradox is that avoiding risks we imagine we’ll regret likely will hurt us more than taking those risks.”
I was still bullish on both companies, so it really made little sense to sell the shares when I did. Sure, I made a few bucks, but at the expense of much greater future gains. Was there risk involved? No doubt! It’s easy to say I shouldn’t have sold in hindsight. Still, I wish I’d had less of a speculator’s mentality and more of an owner’s mentality. Enter expert investor and future Art of Allowance Podcast guest Evan Wilson. In the following video short, he shares how he teaches his kids about investing from the perspective of an owner: Like we did with our kids, Evan’s starting the money conversation early to help his children make “low-stakes” mistakes while they’re under his roof. He wants them to experience wins and losses when he can guide them by putting those ups and downs in perspective. I’ll be sharing my full conversation with Evan next week. You won’t want to miss it! — 3 — Please, Tell Me More:
“Evolution in man during recorded time has been social rather than biological: it has proceeded not by heritable variations in the species, but mostly by economic, political, intellectual, and moral innovation transmitted to individuals and generations by imitation, custom, or education.”
—Will and Ariel Durant, The Lessons of History
To describe these ideas passed through generations, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins later coined the term “memes.”
No, not those kinds of memes! I’m talking about norms transmitted through generations socially, just as biological traits are transmitted genetically. This insight resonates deeply with our mission. At The Art of Allowance Project, we believe in breaking the taboo around discussing money with kids. By talking openly about finances, we replace outdated “memes” with new ones that promote money smarts and financial independence from a young age. So let’s continue to foster an environment where our kids can learn, grow and thrive financially. And while we’re at it, let’s enjoy the journey. John, P.S. Please consult with a financial or investment professional before engaging in any decisions that might affect your own financial well-being. View this email in your browser. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
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