Lucia

de Vernai

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May 6, 2009
Kids and the Recession

Seeing your kid bullied or struggling with basic math is painful for any parent. No matter how many times you remind them that they’re special and perfect as they are, you can’t force the popular boys to take notice or make the varsity team for them. Just as it takes a good two decades to understand that slamming the door and yelling “you just don’t understand” means nothing to parents, it’s hard to discuss finances with children. 

With Mother’s Day around the corner and Father’s Day soon to follow, many kids – from eight-year-olds not sure what a bailout is to adults struggling with their own finances – are experiencing those feelings as well. Not that lack of resources can stop the show of affection. All parents appreciate clean dishes and finger paintings. Still, the influence of economic stress on families trickles down to children, and not only as smaller birthday presents. 

Job loss often means loss of medical insurance, increased stress levels and in some cases substance abuse. Building frustration and fast-disappearing options can create home atmospheres that make childhood a nightmare. Recessions also (or especially) influence those who cannot look for another job, sell the house or get a fourth line of credit. Although several independent agencies across the country have reported increased child abuse correlated with the economic downturn, the effects do not have to be as dramatic to have meaningful impact.

The relationship between stress at home and student performance, access to three healthy meals a day or the dissolution of a college fund to pay off family debt make all the difference in the lives of millions of Americans. They’re not taxpayers or voters yet, but the political characteristics of a generation growing up at a time of job loss and foreclosure are anything but irrelevant.

It’s not a matter of reminding the nation that “it takes a village.” Actually, it takes lots and lots of money and restructuring to get public schools what they need (including subsidized lunches) to make sure that this generation’s future does not suffer because of mistakes they did not commit. Unfortunately, education is the first place budget cuts start, and while we think that your soccer team and orchestra were just charming, covering up for white-collar crime is just so much more interesting.

If you ever want to make sure that your arguments against government regulation make sense, tell your 15-year-old that it is better to seek forgiveness than permission and explain that too much oversight stunts growth and development. Then see if she ever makes curfew again.

Frustrated by “adult” problems, confused by the small print in legalese, we barely know what’s happening to us and going on around us anymore. Imagine how an 11-year-old who keeps hearing “we don’t have the money” feels. It’s wrong for us to assume that “children aren’t in this.” If your family’s financial situation has changed, or if suddenly both mommy and daddy are staying home, your child has the right to know why.

I’m not suggesting that you pull up the Fed web site and tell them dinner is in three hours. Rather, let them in gently, and explain that even if sometimes the emotions fly high or old habits (like dining out) become sparse, it is not their fault. It’s                              ‘s (fill in name of the bank that did you in or senator that opposes regulation). Sneak in a lesson about what to do with their allowance.

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