So, bit of a side question here, and I was hoping that HN could help.
Background: We've come into some money, we're in the 1% now. We did not grow up rich at all and had a HS experience and college admissions experience like the ones described in the article and the comments here (cutthroat). We have kids. We're still new to having 'escaped capitalism'.
Question: Um, how do I raise rich kids?
Like, do we even bother with the crazy college admissions process?
As long as we don't really touch the principle much, this thing will likely grow faster than my family. My kids aren't going to want for anything real, nor will any of my descendants, if they're not really stupid. Which is a pretty low bar to pass.
I don't want my kids languishing away like some of the rich kids that I have known. That usually leads to ennui and, honestly, a lot of drugs a booze. Knowing my SO and I, they are going to need 'meaning' in their lives. But who knows.
So, if anyone has any tips or tricks here, I would love to know.
Sorry for derailing the conversation here, if I have.
I don’t think this is a derailment. You’re asking how you might raise your kids in a way that promotes their well-being, probably contrary to the achievement culture discussed in the article.
A nice model to consider for well-being is “PERMA” from Marty Seligman, a pioneer of positive psychology. The letters stand for five foundations of well-being: positive emotion, engagement (including flow), relationships, meaning, and accomplishments.
From this model, I would explore questions like these:
- Are there schools near your family that focus on mastery rather than performance, and approach education more holistically?
- Do you and your SO have a community of friends that live nearby and have similarly aged children?
- Do you and your SO already find a higher meaning in your lives in ways that can be modeled and conveyed to your children?
I’m a developmental psych guy, so if you want more detail it might be helpful to know roughly how old your kids are or if there’s a developmental stage you’re more or less concerned about. Anyway, maybe this gives you something to chew on.
Background: We've come into some money, we're in the 1% now. We did not grow up rich at all and had a HS experience and college admissions experience like the ones described in the article and the comments here (cutthroat). We have kids. We're still new to having 'escaped capitalism'.
Question: Um, how do I raise rich kids?
Like, do we even bother with the crazy college admissions process?
As long as we don't really touch the principle much, this thing will likely grow faster than my family. My kids aren't going to want for anything real, nor will any of my descendants, if they're not really stupid. Which is a pretty low bar to pass.
I don't want my kids languishing away like some of the rich kids that I have known. That usually leads to ennui and, honestly, a lot of drugs a booze. Knowing my SO and I, they are going to need 'meaning' in their lives. But who knows.
So, if anyone has any tips or tricks here, I would love to know.
Sorry for derailing the conversation here, if I have.