Tweens Behavior & Emotions How Materialistic Is Your Teen? By Rebecca Fraser-Thill twitter linkedin Rebecca Fraser-Thill holds a Master's Degree in developmental psychology and writes about child development and tween parenting. Learn about our editorial process Rebecca Fraser-Thill Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Joel Forman, MD on August 05, 2016 Joel Forman, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician and associate professor of pediatrics, environmental medicine, and public health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Learn about our Review Board Joel Forman, MD Updated on November 22, 2019 Print PhotoAbility / Getty Images Giving a child the finer things in life doesn't necessarily make them materialistic. Materialistic children are less generous and more financially irresponsible than their peers. There may be ways you can give your child everything but still raise a thoughtful, well-rounded kid. There are ways you can avoid having materialistic children, according to recent research. Materialistic Children Have Less Supportive Parents In a study of tweens and teens, parents who were emotionally unsupportive had more materialistic children than supportive parents. By support, we're talking the ability for the parent to talk to, encourage, and be there for their child in good and bad times. Self-esteem is the key to understanding this finding. Supportive parenting increases adolescents' self-esteem. The higher a child's self-esteem, the less likely they are to look to items to bring them happiness and a sense of worth; they get their self-worth from relationships, instead. You can teach them the value of relationships by paying them with your time, energy, and interests. This will help them see their worth as a good friend and child of yours. And even if you do buy some things for them along the way, maintaining the relationship will lead to higher self-esteem which leads to lower materialism. Materialistic Children Have Less Supportive Friends Similar to the findings of parents, the support of peers is also important for counteracting materialism. In the study, kids with supportive friends had higher self-esteem and, in turn, fewer materialistic beliefs. "Supportive friends" are those who are understanding, who help out in times of need and who do not get angry or upset for no reason. Supportive friends also avoid relational aggression and subtle bullying. Encouraging your child to find and maintain these types of friendships may help your child think less materialistically. Materialistic Children Often Have Materialistic Parents Your own behavior also affects how much goods and money matter to your child. Children learn by watching, so if they see you valuing money as a source of happiness, they are likely to do the same. In addition, the researchers discovered that the more materialistic a parent was, the lower their child's self-esteem. Because low self-esteem is linked to higher materialism, it follows that materialistic parents had materialistic children. Materialistic Children Also Have Materialistic Friends Similarly, the attitudes and behaviors of peers affect materialistic beliefs. The researchers found that adolescents with materialistic friends had lower self-esteem and, in turn, higher materialism themselves. Encouraging your child to find supportive friends who don't put a high value on money and things may, therefore, help your tween avoid being consumed by consumption. 5 Strategies to Address Ungratefulness Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Chaplin, Lan Nguyen and John, Deborah Roedder. Interpersonal influences on adolescent materialism: A new look at the role of parents and peers. Journal of Consumer Behavior. 2010. 20: 176-184.