52 | Raising Resilient Kids with Lee Benson. Building Grit, Confidence and Financial Skills

Every parent dreams of setting their kids up for success—protecting them from pain, offering them opportunities, and giving them the tools to thrive. But what if, in trying to shield our kids from struggles, we’re actually limiting their potential?

What if you could give your child a superpower—a mindset that turns challenges into opportunities, builds confidence through healthy struggles, and equips them to create value for themselves and others? I had my first paper route in the 3^rd grade! Getting up early, rain or shine, instilled a work ethic in me and taught me so much more than an allowance ever did. That was back in the days when you had to collect the money from your customers by going door to door.

In today’s episode, we’re diving into the principles of Value Creation Kid, a proven roadmap to raising financially competent, responsible, and resilient kids. Joining us is Lee Benson, a seasoned entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience as a CEO. Lee grew and sold his company, Able Aerospace, for 9-figures and now helps low income families thrive.

Lee shares practical insights, including:

• How letting kids have healthy struggles builds resilience.

• Lee’s childhood was rough and full of Ace’s Adverse Childhood Expereinces, but despite this he learned how to turn struggles into capabilities and confidence. (See the 10 Ace questions below.)
• 55+ “Home Gigs (jobs)” to help kids earn, save, spend, and learn financial independence.

Lee’s struggles and expertise, combined with actionable steps for parents, will inspire you to equip your kids with the confidence and grit to succeed in the real world. Get ready to join the movement toward raising 50 million financially capable kids! And don’t forget to take a free personality test for your child at wendygossett.com

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The 10 ACE Questions

Here’s a general breakdown of the questions:

Abuse

1. Emotional Abuse:
   Did a parent or other adult in the household often insult, humiliate, or put you down? Did they make you feel afraid you might be physically hurt?
2. Physical Abuse:
   Did a parent or other adult in the household often push, grab, slap, or throw something at you? Or ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured?
3. Sexual Abuse:
   Did an adult or older person ever touch you inappropriately, try to make you touch them sexually, or force you into sexual contact?

Neglect

1. Emotional Neglect:
   Did you often feel that no one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? Or that your family didn’t look out for or support each other?
2. Physical Neglect:
   Did you often feel that you didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, or had no one to protect you? Or that your parents were too drunk or high to care for you or take you to the doctor if needed?

Household Dysfunction

1. Parental Separation or Divorce:
   Were your parents ever separated or divorced?
2. Domestic Violence:
   Did your mother or stepmother (or another household adult) often get pushed, grabbed, slapped, or have something thrown at them? Or did they ever get hit, kicked, or threatened with a weapon?
3. Substance Abuse:
   Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic, or who used drugs?
4. Mental Illness:
   Was a household member often depressed, mentally ill, or suicidal?
5. Incarceration:
   Did a household member go to prison?

 

How the ACE Score Works

Each "yes" response equals 1 point, resulting in a total ACE score ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores indicate a greater exposure to childhood adversity, which is associated with an increased risk of long-term health, emotional, and behavioral challenges.

 

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Website: Wendy Gossett.com Get FREE resources on my website: https://wendygossett.com/ or email me at WendyGossett.com

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Wendy Gossett helps parents understand their children by using temperament psychology and neuroscience. She has over 10,000 hours of experience in education, both in the classroom and corporate sector.

Even though she holds a Master’s degree in education, she struggled to understand her neurodivergent and oppositional kids.  Inspired by her experience using Myers Briggs and the Enneagram with business teams, she spent over a decade researching temperament pattens to help family teams. She is a best-selling author and host of the Not So Normal Parenting podcast.

 

Her podcast is entitled Not So Normal Parenting because not only are she and her kids neurodivergent but some of her life experiences, such as driving off a cliff her wedding night and going viral for embarrassing her seventeen-year old son by dancing on a snowy and jammed interstate, fall into that category. In addition to being talked about by Hoda Kotb, the BackStreet Boys, and Princess Kate, even U2 singer Bono mentioned the incident in his autobiography.

 

Because Wendy herself has struggled as a helicopter parent, a cranky parent and an embarrassing parent, she wants to help other parents struggle……..a little bit less!