★ Now in its third printing! A featured title at the 2026 Russian Non-Fiction Book Fair!
★ Why, despite giving my child everything, is he so fragile and ungrateful? We pour our hearts and souls into paving the way for our children, only to be met with their indifference and vulnerability. This book serves as a wake-up call for parents living in an age of abundance.
★ Psychology professor Marina Melia points out that when material provision far outweighs emotional and psychological needs, middle-class families are systematically producing “psychological poor.”
★ Drawing on years of experience as a senior corporate consultant, the author offers a sharp analysis of “overindulgence–neglect syndrome”—explaining why children, even when they have too much, often lose their sense of purpose and gratitude. The book not only reveals the hidden mechanisms behind “how to ruin a child” but also provides a concrete framework for cultivating resilience and adaptability.
★ If you’re a tired and confused parent, this book will teach you how to channel your love without overwhelming your child—helping them take responsibility amidst plenty and develop strong, resilient character in an environment of abundance.

We are hearing more and more often that today’s children are fundamentally different from previous generations. They are said to grow up passive, lazy, materialistic, ungrateful, and utterly unable to cope with real life. They seem to lack ambition, cannot set goals, struggle to handle even the slightest disappointment, and find it difficult to form meaningful relationships. What was once considered a “silver-spoon” upbringing—limited to affluent families—has now spread to the middle class. Parents do everything in their power to provide their children with every possible opportunity, yet these efforts often fail to produce the desired results.

Marina Melia is a professor of psychology, an executive coach and consultant for top Russian business leaders, and a mother of three. She helps us understand the common mistakes modern parents make. In the revised third edition of her book, she explains how growing up in an environment of material abundance affects children’s development, outlines practical steps to improve the situation, and offers concrete, effective advice. This book will teach you:
- Why children may grow up ungrateful;
- How to help children learn to overcome challenges;
- What “neglectful indulgence syndrome” entails;
- Which parenting mistakes can hinder a child’s growth;
- How to foster a sense of responsibility in your child.
And much more.

[Author] Marina Melia
Professor of Psychology, founder of the MM-Class consulting firm, and Chair of the Board of the “Lighthouse Home” charitable foundation. During the Soviet era, she taught sports psychology and served as a psychological consultant for the Soviet national sports teams. She headed the High-Performance Sports Psychology Laboratory and managed the Soviet Sports Psychology Service Center. Marina Melia holds the titles of Master of Sports of the USSR in cycling and skiing. In the early years of Perestroika, in collaboration with Vladimir Stolin, Marina Melia established Interact—the Soviet Union’s first psychological cooperative—at Moscow State University. Subsequently, she co-founded and directed the Soviet–U.S. psychological center ECOPSY, where she pioneered the use of in-depth individual assessment methods in the USSR. Since 1991, Marina Melia has been a co-owner and CEO of RHR-International/Russia. In 1999, she founded her own psychological consulting firm, MM-Class. Marina Melia is the author of bestsellers including Business Is Psychology, How to Enhance Your Power? The Coach’s Path, Success Is Personal, Simplify Complexity, The Key Secrets of the First Year of Life, and Our Poor Rich Kids. Her articles have appeared in leading Russian media outlets such as Forbes, Novye Izvestia, Psychology, Tatler, Our Psychology, and Harvard Business Review. Her master classes and lectures on the challenges of parenting in today’s world are highly popular.