Growing Up In Recession Can Shape Child’s Future
K. Esther Szabo was a small child when the recession of the early 1970s sent her family’s fortunes into a tailspin. Her father, an economist, struggled to find work, and her mother worried about paying the bills. The family eventually filed bankruptcy.
The tensions at home put a permanent mark on Szabo. To help her family, she started working at age 8, doing chores for neighbors, and has been working ever since. When a personal-finance class in college introduced her to the idea that calamities like the one that crippled her family could be avoided with careful planning, she found the idea “mind-blowing,” she says. She now co-owns a Los Altos, Calif., financial-planning firm.
In this current recession, we may be creating a new generation of Szabos. Economic downturns leave enduring marks on the career prospects and aspirations of children. Some youngsters will face lasting setbacks, while others will emerge more focused and motivated, based on studies of past recessions. The outcome depends partly on a child’s age, on the example set by parents, and on whether young people can be empowered somehow to help their families through the crisis.
College students may be among the hardest-hit. Graduates who entered the job market in the recession of the early 1980s made significantly less money for at least a decade, compared with those who graduated in more prosperous times, says a study by Yale University’s Lisa Kahn.
Continue Reading: “How Growing Up in a Recession Can Shape a Child’s Future”
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Jaclyn on February 27th, 2009 12:51 pm
I agree that growing up in a depression or even a recession could prove to shape a childs future and out look on a lot of life situation’s. rather then always having it all and having it all handed to them throughout their life, they would be raised with the concept of nothing is free, money is tight, everyone needs to pitch in and help out a little bit for our survival. when you think about it yes…it is sad that children should ever have to grow up under those circumstances, but at the same time could prove to be very beneficial to them and good for their up bringing. at least this way you as a parent would know that your child from early on know’s how to pinch pennies when need be, save as much as they can, work hard and would be able to take care of themselves through difficult times.
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