Rich Dad's Rich Kid, Smart Kid: Giving Your Child a Financial Head Start [Paperback]

Robert T. Kiyosaki (Author), Sharon L. Lechter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001 | Series: Rich Dad's

This handbook for parents explains how to teach children the fundamental principles of finance, introducing problem-solving skills that help youngsters understand the importance of a good education and financial planning in their lives.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Kiyosaki has challenged and changed the way tens of millions of people around the world think about money. With perspectives that often contradict conventional wisdom, Robert has earned a reputation for straight talk, irreverence and courage. He is regarded worldwide as a passionate advocate for financial education. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From AudioFile

The authors are famous for articulating the difference between saving, investing, owning a business, and being someone's employee. In this audio, they offer the rationale and techniques for passing these distinctions on to children. Their bias is toward being independently wealthy, and they do a marvelous job describing how to introduce young people to that way of thinking: It's all about ownership and accountability for the way one earns, borrows, spends, and invests money. Though their ideas are far from revolutionary, they're fresh and inviting in this production. A must hear for anyone wanting their children to have the habits and attitudes necessary for financial freedom. T.W. 2002 Audie Finalist © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Warner Business; Reprint edition (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446677485
• ISBN-13: 978-0446677486
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

142 of 145 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Parental Tips for Helping Children Learn Rich Dad, Poor Dad January 6, 2001

By Donald Mitchell HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Rich Dad's Rich Kid, Smart Kid may be the most helpful book ever for guiding adults on how to assist children and teenagers in learning about how to organize their lives to be more successful. I highly recommend this book to every parent, god parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, and caring older sibling.

I think this is the best of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series, and clearly deserves more than five stars.

Think of this book as the instructor's guide to teaching Rich Dad, Poor Dad combined with a basic guide to helping young people identify their strengths and learning styles. The book also provides a sound foundation for helping young people build their self-confidence in a healthy way.

Unlike the other books in the series, this one draws on the positive lessons of both Mr. Kiyosaki's Rich Dad and his Poor Dad rather than just the Rich Dad. To overcome Mr. Kiyosaki's lack of experience as a parent (he has no children), the book relies on important academic and professional research to add context for Mr. Kiyosaki's observations about his own childhood.

The book begins by citing a recent HEW study that showed that 56 out of 100 people who are 65 need either government or family financial assistance to make ends meet. The book is aimed at providing children with the learning experiences to allow them to avoid that dismal financial result.

Then the perspective shifts to pointing out that the change from an industrial to an information economy has shifted the rules of success in our society. The old rules were to get a good education, get a good job, and have financial security from one employer.... The new rules are quite different and feature being in an environment in which one will be a free agent, work in a virtual company, get paid for results, work in many professions, retire early, work only when you are interested in working, learn in seminars rather than classes, focus on your core talents, emphasize developing and implementing new ideas, self-direct your own investments for retirement, and work at home rather than in an office.

To succeed, your child will need at least three basic strategies: one for lifelong learning, one for developing a career, and one for creating financial success.

The book points out that most people will have to relearn the most important areas they work in about every 2-4 years, shift professions as they reach the age at which they become obsolete, and make their money work hard for them.

In the second part of the book, you will learn many basic ways to help your child learn these lessons. He points out the work of Howard Gardner in emphasizing that each of us has different dimensions to the ways our intelligence expresses itself. Find out what your child's is, praise that, and provide your guiding experiences in terms of that way of learning. In almost all cases, children like to learn through play, playing in the ways they like to play and focusing on subjects that interest them.

In Mr. Kiyosaki's case, he likes things to be kinesthetic ( touching things and experiencing emotions about them), and he wants to experience them as directly as possible. His Rich Dad appreciated this and put him into situations where his learning style would work. This was the basis of the famous job in the grocery store for ten cents an hour, where he then paid the ten cents an hour to have the privilege of learning. After a while he realized the opportunity to rent and sell the returned comic books for a profit. This allowed him to understand that money is about ideas.

The book then builds up the game of Monopoly as a teaching tool. Through playing the game, Mr. Kiyosaki learned that he needed to buy real estate and develop it to generate an income from investments. His Rich Dad took him along to buy a house that he later rented so he could see what was involved. Then, Mr. Kiyosaki "got it" and was able to follow that lesson to become a millionaire real estate investor on his own.

The appendix by Ms. Lechter has some very good scripts that you can use for taking your children through financial field trips to bring home the message.

The book also offers lots of good advice for supporting your children while they may be having trouble in school. This includes a suggestion for a test they can take to determine their learning style (the Kolbe index). You are also encouraged to find a school that emphasizes the style of learning that your child uses.

On the financial side, the key concepts of Cash Flow Quadrant are greatly simplified so that they can be applied for your child. The book has many exercises you can use to give your child experience in managing her or his money. One of my favorite stories is about a boy who wanted to buy some expensive golf clubs. Be sure to read that one.

Help your child obtain the spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional experiences to prosper in the new world of opportunities! Read more ›

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Headstart! A real gift for your family! January 6, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I don't normally buy follow-up books because I find them to be quite repetitive, however, this one is a true exception.

"Rich Dad" made such an impact with me that I have shared it with many others over the past two years. That said, my wife and I have struggled with how to take what we've learned and pass it on to our children.

This book is it! As we all struggle to ensure our children get the best education possible, we're facing an ironic trend in the school systems where teachers are teaching our children how to pass standardized tests instead of focusing on what children need to thrive in this new century (this is not a knock on that practice - if that's what it takes today, that's what it takes, but our children need more and it's our responsiblity as parents to provide the rest - we cannot rely on our school systems to be the sole educators of our children (sorry for the sermon)). This book was designed to fill in the gaps, to give your kids what they're missing from school - inspiring and practical financial knowledge.

It's not about turning little Johnny into a power stock-broker, but rather awakening his love of learning so that doors will open for him - it's a way of empowering our children by giving them the skills they'll need to succeed in every aspect of their lives.

I can't recommend a book more than I do this one!

The best to you and yours!

60 of 64 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not enough meat February 15, 2001

By Theresa Gasper

Format:Paperback

After reading Rich Dad/Poor Dad, Cash Flow Quadrant and Rich Dad's Guide to Investing, I found this one to be repetitive, full of too many cutesy stories and not enough meat. The appendix is the best part of the book and I had hoped the entire book would be more like the info offered in the appendix. If you haven't read the other books, this offers a good starting point.

Overall I like Kiyosaki's style of writing and he makes a boring subject come alive with his storytelling style, but sometimes he just overdoes it.

Finally, I recently purchased his CashFlow 101 game and my two teenagers (son 16, daughter 14) love the game and beg us to play it all the time. They caught on fast to the score card which includes a balance sheet & income statement. I'm learning a lot just teaching and guiding them. It's worth the investment just to hear your 14 year old say "I don't want any more doodads, I'm trying to build my passive income here!".

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Summary January 13, 2004

By Justin Belkin

Format:Paperback

Our current education system fails to adequately teach our children the financial skills necessary to survive later on in life. Robert Kiyosaki wrote Rich Kid, Smart Kid to fill those gaps. The fundamental premise of the book is that all children are born smart and rich. The goal of education is to bring out that natural genius within our children. Awakening this genius inside of us is a sure way to become happy. Therefore, being happy through realizing our innate potential is more fulfilling than being rich and unhappy. Rich Dad said, "If you are not happy while getting rich, chances are you will not be happy when you get rich. So whether you are rich or poor, make sure you are happy" (14).

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. Read more ›