What Kids Really Want That Money Can't Buy: Tips for Parenting in a Commercial World

As executive director of the Center for a New American Dream, author Betsy Taylor's mission is to shift Americans away from rampart consumerism. Here, she offers parents a clear and simple path to follow to protect their children from the notion that more-is-better. "I want to know that I am loved....My parents buy me many things. But what tells me they love me the most is when they listen to me." At a time when many parents worry that they are raising the "I want" generation, this book offers a helping hand-and a remarkable dose of the truth. Drawing on the touching, honest words of thousands of children who were asked "What do you want that money can't buy?" it helps parents peer into their kids' hearts, hear what really means the most to them, and learn to help them get it. Taylor shows us ways to reinstill a love of life's simple pleasures, teach the difference between friendships and popularity, build family rituals, appreciate nature, and find quiet time together. From protecting your children from a billion-dollar-a-year marketing onslaught to allowing them to develop their own spiritual lives, this much needed book is a dynamic, real-world guide to reshaping our busy lives and giving our children more joy with less stuff-and plenty of what truly matters most.