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

by Ron Lieber

We’ll also need a list of banned items, which will change over time as kids develop new interests and companies invent ever more inappropriate ways to satisfy them. These are things that we won’t let our children buy, even if they’re using Spend money from their allowance or funds they earn from a job. Parents who follow my Facebook conversations shared their own lists of banned items with me, in case you’re looking for ideas. They include, in alphabetical order: Airsoft guns, Barbie dolls, candy, the Claw machine at the arcade that fishes out stuffed toys (or tries to), dogs, hamsters, Heelys shoes, in-app purchases, iPhones, Legos (additional), motorcycles, Nike Elite socks, Oakley sunglasses, pocket knives, push-up bras, anything with a skull and crossbones, skydiving, tattoos, trampolines, and violent video games. If your child has you looking for evidence that at least one other mean parent won’t let their kids spend their own money on one of these things, now you have it.