Children with wealthy but emotionally distant families may be victims of an unintentional – and often overlooked – form of mistreatment Most parents strive to provide for their children. Many hope to give their offspring the comfortable life they never had. But when acquiring, maintaining, and enjoying wealth comes ahead of the children’s needs – what then? ‘Affluent neglect’ is the term recently coined for what happens when wealthy families not only outsource their childcare to paid employees, but bring up their offspring to believe that material goods are equivalent to – or better than – love.
And while child protection services generally focus on the signs of physical neglect and abuse, it’s now becoming clear that growing up materially rich but emotionally poor can cause just as much pain. It’s seldom intentional – but working extremely long hours, replacing quality time with quality goods and offering a fleet of staff rather than family connection are all hallmarks of affluent neglect..
