In her book The Price of Privilege, Dr. Levine discusses the problems that can occur when a family’s desire for their children to have “the best” becomes too closely tied to materialism, pressure to achieve, perfectionism, and outward appearances. For all of us as intentional, informed parents, it is critical to support our children’s social skills, reflective abilities, decision-making abilities, sense of trust, sense of self worth, and sense of reciprocity to help prevent some of the more serious emotional problems that Levine is seeing in so many American teenagers. She will offer ideas and strategies for parents that will help children of all ages develop an authentic and healthy sense of self.

In an article in the November 2007 issue of Independent School magazine titled “Challenging the Culture of Affluence,” Dr. Levine describes how family culture, school culture, and today’s American culture intersect to make difficult terrain for our children to navigate:

“Money is not the culprit here…We all know wonderful people of modest means and intolerable people with great wealth. The culprit is the "culture of affluence," and it affects a wide swath of people living in America. The "culture of affluence" values "stuff" over people, competition over cooperation, and the individual over the group… the fact is (known by both researchers and anyone who has really paid attention) that children should have chores, be respectful, work for their privileges, and accept their level of ability even as they seek out challenges. They need to feel that they are loved for who they are, not simply what they do.”

To read the complete article, click this link: http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?Itemnumber=150274&sn.ItemNumber=145956&tn.ItemNumber=145958.