Is Parenting Easier For Wealthy Parents?
Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
Wealthy parents are often laughed at when discussing parenting because their life must be more accessible than someone who isn’t rich.
Did you know that your financial status affords you easier parenting?
Cue the laughs.
Raising mentally strong kids takes parenting skills you can’t buy.
Today, I’m sharing something that happened to Mrs. CBB at our son’s school that surprised us.
You Can’t Buy Parenting Skills
Raising normal children instead of overindulged spoiled brats is challenging for those with money, but it has nothing to do with making parenting easier.
The rich children’s life vs. the poor children’s life is nothing more than having more stuff because you can’t buy parenting skills unless it’s hired to help.
What’s the point of having kids if you push them aside because you have lots of money?
Being entitled and acting entitled are two different things, and for wealthy parents, it can be hard to parent when you are constantly being judged.
Just because you are wealthy doesn’t mean you are debt-free, and just because you are debt-free doesn’t mean you are different from other parents.
Wealthy Parents = Easier Parenting
To earn money, you have to work hard, and perhaps in time, money will roll in on a passive level, but for most people, working for a paycheck is a daily reality.
The difference for some folks is how much they are getting paid and how much debt they have to their name.
Because if you’re wealthy, you get everything handed to you on a silver platter, including your parenting abilities.
You also get to outsource your parental duties, so you don’t have to worry about attending Johnny’s school play or Julie’s singing lesson recital.
These differences change how others view you, especially those who believe you have an easier life because of the money you earn or have in the bank.
Although the above does happen, not all parents with money are heartless and abandon their children for spa appointments or to jet around the world on holidays sans kids in tow.
It Must Be Nice To Be Wealthy Parents
Last week, Mrs. CBB was told by another parent at our son’s school while waiting for the bell to ring that it must be nice to stay home and not work or worry about money.
The conversation went something like this after the initial chit-chat;
- Mom: So, what do you do for a living?
- Mrs. CBB: I’m a stay-at-home parent/wife.
- Mom: Oh, that must be nice; I have to go to work five days a week. Boy, I wish I could stay home and lounge around. Your husband must have a good job, or did you win the lottery? (insert laughter) So, did you stay home with your son for four years, or did he go to daycare?
- Mrs. CBB: Yes, I stayed home with him the entire time leading up to starting elementary school, and we put him in daycare for a short time to prepare him for school.
- Mom: How are you able to stay home and not work? You must be wealthy parents, haha!
Giving Her The Juice
She’s probing for more financial gossip since Mrs. CBB is avoiding her; You Must Be Rich statements.
Then Mrs. CBB lets her have what she wants to see her reaction.
- Mrs. CBB: We are debt-free and wealthy by definition (meaning we all value the word “rich” differently), but we still have the same worries and stresses as other people about money.
- Mom: Well, you’re still lucky to stay home, and I bet your little guy gets spoiled rotten by you two with all the money you have.
- Mrs. CBB: Sigh. Smile.
- Mom: Have a great day, home parent, haha!
- Mrs. CBB: Smiles and waves.
Not All Conversations Are Heard
Sometimes, it’s just best to smile and move on with life because trying to explain things falls on deaf ears.
All this woman was thinking about was money and how nice it was to have it, afford to stay home, and breed spoiled, entitled children.
The money conversation is why we’ve held back many times, not saying a thing about being debt-free or even that Mrs. CBB was able to stay home with our son.
For one, she didn’t stay home just because we are wealthy parents, and two, just because we are debt-free doesn’t mean that our son gets a privileged life.
Prioritizing Your Day
I’ve read about rich folks who share photos of their lives behind the camera on social media, such as Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, Behati Prinsloo-Levine and Adam Levine, Snooki and Jionni LaValle, Pink and Carey Hart, Vanessa and Nick Lachey, Yael and Scooter Braun and even Jeremy and Chelsey Bieber, step-mom to Justin Bieber.
They all have money but want their kids to grow up daily, like every other kid on the block.
The list goes on where wealthy parents have babies, and people think parenting is easier because they have the money to buy help.
What is concerning about this is why money becomes more critical than just parenting the best way we can utilize available resources.
It doesn’t matter if your house is not cleaned daily or if the laundry is mounting in piles by the washer.
We can pick and choose what we want to get done daily.
You must understand that it’s perfectly normal not to have that show-home appeal whenever someone comes around.
Life means you live, so unless your home is filthy, you are doing nothing more than living and balancing your days like everyone else, with or without spare cash.
Effective Parenting Costs Nothing
Parenting means more than just money, which means that allowing yourself as a parent to be the best parent you can is crucial to their success and your happiness.
- Make time for your kids.
- Reward your children
- Behaviour Management
- Be a good role model (they watch everything).
- Boost their self-esteem
- Explore Life Skills
- Communicate effectively
- Unconditional love always
- Education and Learning
- Safety First
- Be consistent in all that you do
- Stress Management skills
- Be willing to change as a parent
- Teach Patience
- Embrace Independence
- Enforce rules and set guidelines
None of the above costs money or can be bought, but it dramatically impacts your children.
Assumptions Of Wealthy Parents
Just because you see a mom with make-up off to the gym or a dad who is home often or goes golfing doesn’t mean they have a maid who cleans their house, a nanny who takes care of the kids, cooks, and does the grocery shopping.
It also doesn’t mean that they don’t work or haven’t worked hard to be able to live the life they can afford.
Watching successful model, mom, wife, and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen on Instagram, it’s easy to see that she adores cooking for friends and family almost every night.
Of course, she could hire a chef to do the work, but cooking is a big part of her life and livelihood.
With two cookbooks, Cravings and Hungry For More, and many home videos on Instagram, Chrissy and John Legend are wealthy parents with a solid foundation for their two children.
I mean, what kid eats coconut carrot soup and loves it?
Little Luna, their daughter, does, and she loves it. “It tastes like orange candy.”
She may have other help around the house that allows her more time in the kitchen, but it still becomes a part of their daily chores.
Her kids see it and will appreciate it later in life because not all kids of wealthy parents become rich themselves.
Life Skills Do Matter
You must teach your kids life skills whether you have no money in the bank or millions invested.
Would having any of the above services help parenting become easier?
I don’t know; I’ve never had them, and perhaps they might, depending on my lifestyle.
Jetting off for work every week is not part of my schedule, nor do I have a mansion or massive grounds that must be looked after.
I will go with yes to say it because it would seem that way.
However, it only makes life easier, not parenting easier.
Comparing Your Life With Wealthy Parents
I know it’s hard not to dream about living a life that you see other people live because they can afford to do so. (In some cases, they can not.)
When you have money, whether you are in the media spotlight or just a regular person who is financially successful, there will always be differences when you compare lives.
This is why I’ve stated on the blog before never to compare what someone else has to what you have.
You are only letting yourself down.
I know someone who just paid off all of his debt, which is a financial success for him.
He may not have a dime in savings, but he has no debt, which is his freedom until the next leg of his journey.
We can’t give up no matter what stage our financial status is in.
Related: Are you Rich just because you are debt-free?
Mind Your Own Business
I’ve even been point-blank told that we should donate more money to charity and add this category to our budget.
Fair enough, I can accept that since I put our financial numbers out there, but who will tell us what to do with our money?
We are by no definition ultra-rich, and to some of you with more money than us, you may view us as not rich at all.
For those of you with less money than us, you may think we are wealthy parents.
It becomes a game of who has more and who has a better life because of it.
People focus on what others have rather than learning how to invest in themselves.
You let yourself down when you do this comparing thing that can eat you alive.
If you insist on doing so and take that comparison to feed your motivation to become successful that’s a different story.
However, to moan about not having the same life for your children is petty.
My Parenting Is Not Your Parenting
But most wealthy parents got a kick-start from their parents.
That may or may not be accurate, but if you have children, you know that they will do everything that kids do because they are kids.
No amount of money will cure a temper tantrum or take away tears when they flow, and a child wants a cuddle from mom or dad.
Love is unconditional, and money can’t buy true love, especially that of a child.
They see and feel everything like every other child, no matter how fat their parents’ bank account is or is not.
Money may be able to buy experiences that can enhance a child’s life by exposing them to more of what life has to offer.
However, there is SO MUCH in this world to see and do that costs little to no money.
The best part is that it will still be as fun and educational for children, whether you can afford to bring them to a zoo or a local animal farm.
Take your child to the park instead of an indoor playground, or go on Disney holidays or a road trip to Wonderland.
It’s all about family and experiences that you build with each other.
Appreciation Is A Life-Long Gift
Teach your children to appreciate doing things for themselves is how you bring up children who are responsible and take charge of life rather than relying on everyone else.
Even the wealthiest parents still make their children tidy their rooms and earn the money they are given.
It may be outrageous amounts, but the lesson is vital.
Sure, there are rich parents who hand over money or credit cards, but again, money can’t buy good parenting skills.
Family Comes First
Check your stress level at the door before you come home, especially when you have children at home.
They want your attention, and they want to play.
This is how you can build solid and long-lasting relationships with your kids without headaches and spending money all the time.
Holidays Are For Everyone
I know a family who goes to Disney World every year with their kids and has a mortgage and debt, and you may think they are rich people when they are not.
She was born into a rich family where her husband was not, and there were no hand-outs when they married.
They choose to save for holidays to experience things with their children like they did because they understand how it impacted their lives.
These two parents also go on nature walks, trail running, and outdoor activities with their kids that cost little to no money.
Although they both work full-time, they leave their work stress at work and focus on family when they are home.
My Money And Your Money
The ultra-rich people do the same thing but perhaps on a different level, but who are we to compare when we don’t know the life they live?
Rich people may be able to buy things more accessible than others.
Regarding parenting, a child is a child, regardless of bank account size.
The best thing you can do for your children is to give them your love and support and share the world they are about to embark on.
If you can afford a maid, nanny, or chef and go on vacations on a spur of the moment’s notice, these are choices you can make, but doesn’t mean that parenting gets any easier.
With fame and fortune comes far more than we can ever imagine.
Don’t let the smoke screen and media skew your views on how money affects the rich and famous.
Not all rich people grew up rich, nor do they want their kids to skip out on learning about what life is all about.
You can’t buy wealthy parenting skills.
Life behind closed doors is nothing more than being human.
It’s time for me to go grocery shopping now with our son so we can go home to cook a meal together as a family.
Discussion: How would you have responded to the other mom if you were Mrs. CBB?
Thanks for reading, and please leave your comments below.
Mr. CBB
