Kids With Less Money to Spend and More Time On Their Hands Could Spell Trouble
As the recession takes a bite out of kids spending, mom and dad need to find other ways to fill their time. Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil advises family dinners and teaching values is not only a good replacement to materialism, but an antidote to teen troubles.
New York, NY (PRWEB) September 26, 2010
The recession is forcing some parents to pull the plug on kids recreational spending. But, it might not come without a fight. After all, most kid's bedrooms are outfitted with computers, flat screen televisions, designer jeans with smart phones in the pockets. “This economic climate creates a call for priorities to change. Children need emotional intimacy, and may have become use to filling that void with material things,” states Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, PhD, author of Financial Infidelity. Dr. Weil believes that children, like adults, have a chemical craving for connection. When their emotional needs aren’t met, spending became the next best thing. However, with extra money less available, kids are also feeling the loss. With more time on their hands, less spending, and inexperienced skills for developing intimacy, kids can make poor choices.
“Replacing mall time with sit down dinners is an antidote to a myriad of trouble kids can get into,” explains Dr. Bonnie who cites a 2005 Columbia University study. The survey found that frequent family dinners are associated with better school performance. The study also found that teens having family dinners five or more times a week were 42 percent less likely to drink, 59 percent less likely to smoke cigarettes and 66 percent less likely to try marijuana. “Regular family dinners fill children’s biological need for connection. Parents need to be present in their children’s lives, model emotional intimacy, and have frequent talks and long hugs,” advises Dr. Weil. “The recession might just be a blessing in disguise for a positive change in the modern American family.”
Dr. Bonnie known as “The Adultery Buster” and the “No. 1 Love Expert”. She has been voted by Psychology Today & NY Magazine as one of America’s Best Therapists, Author of the new edition best selling “Make Up Don’t Break Up”, Including DVD Falling in Love and Staying in Love. Recently featured on Oprah’s OWN Network/Discovery Channel, 1st in a series “Unfaithful”, Seen on Oprah, Today Show, GMA, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News, O'Reilly Report, 20/20 (How to Restore the Sizzle and Prevent adultery), USA Today, NY Times, NY Magazine, Redbook, Time Magazine, LHJ (frequent contributor to Can This Marriage be Saved?) and Women’s Health. She is also the author of Financial Infidelity, Adultery the Forgivable Sin (adapted into a Lifetime movie starring actress Kate Jackson), How Not to (S)mother Your Man and Keep a Woman Happy and Can We Cure and Forgive Adultery? She has a 98% rate of couples who stay together using her Smart Heart Skills and Dialogue.
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