It's December, America's holy month of consumerism, and teenagers are again worshiping at the shrine of spending. That's equal to Mexico's yearly exports. Or the annual sales of the entire aerospace industry. Worse, she says, when it comes to paying taxes, using credit cards or saving for retirement, high school seniors today know less than did seniors in 1997. That's because, the argument goes, parents are unwilling or incapable of discussing finances with their children.
Money is the last taboo.
And so, thanks to Duguay and others, there's now a growth industry in persuading insecure parents that their children will be disasters in life if they can't balance a checkbook by the end of first grade. There's no harm in reading how-to books. This is one subject better taught at home. Dungan asks them. She says it made her more aware of how advertisers target teenagers and more worried about the pressures on children.