The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money

by Ron Lieber

One of the most eye-opening studies in this realm involved a bunch of 4-and 5-year-olds who watched a commercial for something called the Ruckus Rangers, while the control group did not. Of those who didn’t see the commercial, 70 percent wanted to play in a sandbox with friends instead of playing with the toy, while only 36 percent of the kids who saw the commercial chose friends over the Rangers. Then came the follow-up: Given the choice between playing with a nice boy who didn’t have any Ruckus Rangers and a not-so-nice boy who did, just 35 percent of the kids who had seen the commercial chose to hang out with the nice boy with no toy. When researchers asked the same question the next day, it had gone up but only to 49 percent. The commercials actually seem to have caused the kids to value getting their hands on the toy over the virtues of their playmate. As for the kids who hadn’t seen the commercial, 70 percent chose the nice boy to play with.