以下是原文：

The economic crisis can be an opportunity to so something invaluable for your children. I know many of you think your kids will not respect you if you can’t give them everything they want. Please. If I were going to pass out one parenting credo, it would be to give your children too much love and not enough money. Your job is to cherish your children, protect them, and prepare them for the world. Everything else is a luxury, and kids need to know that.

The summer before I became a teenager, I was homeless, living in a car with my dad in Kansas City while he was going to school. (My mom and sisters remained in Oklahoma with a relative.) We eventually got a room at the downtown YMCA for five bucks a week, and then we put together some money for a deposit on a one-bedroom apartment that had no running water, electricity, heat, or air-conditioning.

Sound miserable? Well, as clichéd as this sounds, I cherish those memories. That was my time to learn how to deal with stress and adversity – lessons I’d never have learned any other way at that age. I leanred what it meant to work hard, to stay focused, and to set goals. I learned how to get moving. And I was never closer to my father than during those lean times. We relied on each other. We were “foxhole buddies.” Now tell me, isn’t that that relationship you’d love for you and your kids to share?

Sit down with your children and let them know exactly what is going on. You don’t have to scare them, but you don’t want to gloss over the fact that everyone is making sacrifices during these tough times. It’s a good idea to give your kids something to do, so they fell they’re helping the family. Have them look for little neighborhood jobs, from cutting a neighbor’s grass to feeding someone’s cat. Help them figure out how to save money. By doing so, you’ll be giving your children a chance to feel a deep pride. You’ll be making them part of the solution – an experience they will never forget.