Choking on the Silver Spoon: Keeping Your Kids Healthy, Wealthy and Wise in a Land of Plenty

Rating:
Summary: An excellent parental resource
Review: I read Choking on the Silver Spoon in one night. I was intrigued by the title and found the book to be every bit as engaging as its title. Choking was written primarily for affluent parents, financial counselors, and others involved with the management of wealth, however every parent who cares about rearing happy, well-adjusted children would greatly benefit from the lessons found therein. How do you raise children with solid values, self-esteem, empathy, generosity and what my parents called "good character?" Dr. Buffone is an experienced therapist who draws on years of practice helping parents do just that.

Today's children are growing up in a competitive, consumer-driven world bombarded by ads for must-have toys no child dares be without. They learn early to become avid consumers and spend the rest of their lives engaged in attainment and acquisition, often missing what is really important and beautiful in life. As Dr. Buffone points out, busy parents give things to children instead of their time, and children come to value little as a result, often searching for happiness in materialism and falling sadly short. Dr. Buffone's easy to follow methods, part Tough Love, part Pure Love, work for children of any age, though he readily admits the longer a child suffers from "affluenza" the harder it is to cure.

The final chapters involve family wealth counseling and legacy planning. Even if you have only a small retirement nest egg to pass on, the book offers valuable insights regarding distribution options and their consequences. I highly recommend Choking on the Silver Spoon to every parent or parent-to-be, grandparent, teacher, and anyone involved in the care and nurture of children.

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Summary: How Much Help Did Mr. Buffone Really Get?
Review: Mr. Buffone criticizes parents who financially help their children but I wonder, did Mr. Buffone's parents pay for his high priced college degree? Did they lend him money for his down payment on his first home purchase? Always look deeper than what you see on the surface.