Rich Dad's Rich Kid, Smart Kid: Giving Your Child a Financial Head Start [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

The root of the current problem lies in America's transitioning from an Industrial society into an Information society. Kiyosaki explains the need for transitioning our thought, "In the Information Age, what you know becomes obsolete very quickly. What you learned is important, but not as important as how fast you can learn, change, and adapt to new information" (xi). These structural changes tangibly affect us regardless of whether or not we acknowledge them. Some of the problems facing tomorrow's youth include social security, healthcare, increased risk of obsolesce through increased specialization, and the need for lifelong education. Education must adjust with the times.

Currently, our education system teaches scholastic and professional skills. Scholastic education focuses on the ability to read, write, and do arithmetic. Professional education trains students for high-level careers later on in life. However, this Western brand of education fails our children in some crucial ways. Rich Dad said, "The child learns by doing, making mistakes, and then learning" (238). It's failure lies in its unconscious suppression of the innate genius within all of us, and by dismissing the role mistakes play in the learning process. This happens when our education system forces us to conform to what is only a partial definition of what intelligence is.

Financial education should be taught as soon as the child demonstrates some interest. While this may happen as early as five years old, more commonly a child's perceptions and self-identity is formulated between the ages of nine and fifteen. It is crucial to form the child's perception concerning money in a positive light during these ages. Encouraged by a famous Chicago-based study on learning, Kiyosaki believes, "...a parent's most important job is to monitor, guide, and protect a child's self-perception" (109). As a parent, the process begins by devising a "winning formula" for your children.

The formula Kiyosaki recommends should be tailored to each child based on their interests and which of the several types of genius they possess. Success requires having at least a winning formula for learning, for being a professional, and for financial success. We must be flexible enough to adjust our winning formulas when conditions render them losing formulas. The next step involves homework. Rich Dad said, "the primary difference between the rich, the poor, and the middle class is what they do in their spare time" (50). Kiyosaki recommends teaching financial literacy during your spare time.

To better serve the greater majority of students who fall through the cracks schools must adopt new teaching methods that engage students not just mentally, but also physically, emotionally, and spiritually . One way to achieve this in the classroom is by playing games. Games engage all our senses and reinforce learning. At home this entails teaching your children through pictures, games, and real life examples. Kiyosaki encourages parents to set-up three piggy banks for their children for tithing, saving, and investing. Parents should also expand their child's financial vocabulary. Appendix A and B offer many practical lessons that parents can immediately use with their children.

The larger goal to be achieved is to reorientate the way we view business and wealth. Kiyosaki says, "...if you want your children to be rich, teaching them to serve as many people as possible is a priceless lesson for them to learn" (197). Echoing the message of management guru, Peter Drucker, the primary purpose of business is to create a customer first, then to make a profit. This new perspective teaches our children and us that commitment to the public good is not incompatible with making a profit. In fact, it may be the best way to achieve social harmony. Everyone wins when we seek to develop our own unique genius and parlay our ability toward serving others while simultaneously enriching ourselves both personally and financially.

However, I did think it was interesting and helpful. For some reason, I couldn't put it down when I read it. The anecdotes, although too prolific, were somewhat interesting. Before reading this book, I didn't even know you could invest in Real Estate, and he went into how and what you do a little bit. The section on self-perception and different geniuses was very interesting. I think if all kids knew that they were smart, just not in every way, there would be a lot less self-esteem problems. I think it would also help teachers be patient with kids that are labeled "troublemakers."

Although I enjoyed reading Rich Kid Smart Kid for the most part, and it did make me feel smart after I read it, I was annoyed at the posed questions that were never answered. Where do I get the money to invest? It sounded like the money he started out with just appeared, which I know didn't happen. I also wish he would have explained Asset, Liabilities, Income, and Expenses in a little more detail. Instead, he referred to his other books, which I probably won't read. The part I learned most from was when he put the situations into a real-life senario. It also bothered me how he said he wasn't writing a book on parenting, when he was dishing out an awful lot of advice.

Overall, the book was interesting and it might be the way to a good start in your child's financial life, but that doesn't help me too much. I think I would have benefitted from this book a lot more if it had been more answers than questions, but that may have been the reason it was quick reading.