"Whatever" (sigh)
"Fine" (roll of the eyes)
“You HAVE to take me."
“I’m bored! There’s never anything to do in this house!”
“I only want brand names.”
“Can I have five bucks? So and so always has money.”
(Added by me, cLove) "Daddee, I need money for a school thing"

Are You Raising an Entitled Child?

This is for you parents who are raising their children with overindulgence, self-absorption, and entitlement. The generation just now hitting adulthood or close to it are overly entitled. They feel that they do not need to earn what they want like good grades, possessions, skills or jobs and these children do not respect authority whatsoever!

Jeffrey Zaslow wrote an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal titled, “The Entitlement Epidemic: Who’s Really to Blame,” He notes the cause for the teen to twenty-something generation’s overly inflated sense of self is indulgent parenting.

Is it okay for children to be self-absorbed and overly entitled?

Think about it. It is mind numbingly boring to be with people who are totally self-absorbed. Working or living with the entitled is draining.

As a parent, it is not normal if your kid(s) constantly make you feel guilty. And it’s happening! Entitled children as young as six years old and up (especially children of divorce) have now learned to manipulate parents into feeling almost constant guilt. One divorced father admits that he dreads his children’s arrival at his home because he feels constant pressure and guilt that he is not doing enough for them, that they are not being treated fairly in life; although they have everything a child could want and more. He further admits that his kids believe that life is all about them, their looks, their needs, their wants and that they constantly need to be 'saved' from everyday life. He finds it exhausting. In short, he is not enjoying raising his children. Does this sound like you?

So what is going on with parents? Do they see that by over-indulging they are causing harm to their kids?
These kids are rewarded daily just for their simple existence. Parents have gotten lazy in their parental roles. You can still enjoy your kids and have fun with them but there should always be that line where you enforce discipline and direction in the child.

Yes, it is a struggle to deny, to push, or to discipline and some parents fear that if they parent incorrectly they could psychologically damage their children, causing depression, drug abuse, broken relationships, and failure to succeed, they think that their children will hate them and there are those who parent out of guilt for reasons such as divorce.

IF YOU ARE THIS PARENT, PLEASE READ THIS!
This is a true FACT! Children that are not raised with discipline, not taught respect at a young age, do not earn their way and do not have set limits, are the young adults today who are psychologically damaged, depressed, suffer broken relationships, have no close friends, do not succeed and become drug and alcohol users.

Never mind worrying if your kids will hate you because you will end up hating the people they become! The proof of this is already out there and it is alarming!

Successful parents set limits around spending and other requests and manage children’s expectations. They establish strict boundaries. Effective parents teach kids that there is a clear difference between children and adults; that by education, hard work, age and experience, adults are to be given respect. Children are not on a level playing field with their parents, teachers or coaches!

The time will come quickly for children when they can make all of their own choices. If parents start early by instilling good values, modeling decent behavior and teaching respect, then their children will grow up to make smart choices, develop compassion for others and appreciate and be happy in life.

Kids will learn to want to set goals and achieve them, when they realize how good it feels to do it on their own. So even if they complain, stop doing everything for them!

Kids will learn compassion for others when they learn to respect and contribute to a family unit or community. Give them chores! Teach them to help out when asked. Reward them when they do by saying yes to something they want. Discipline them when they don’t by saying no to their requests and tell them why you’re saying no!

Kids will learn to appreciate when they are allowed to earn something vs. just being given it. Stop giving them money when they haven’t earned it! That’s not reality. You have to work hard to earn money and they need to learn this or they will fail in the work force!

Kids will have closer, more meaningful relationships with their parents when they can count on them for stability, discipline, respect, and direction. Loving your kid doesn't mean showering them with gifts and cash and letting them behave in ways that no one else will ever like them. They will eventually see you as weak and resent you for doing this. And yes, they will turn on you too!

Let's stop raising Entitled Children. Let's give them the gift of the power to think for themselves, to be self confident and to learn respect for others. They will learn from this, a remarkable respect for themselves. They won't need to turn to drugs and alcohol to find it.

We all have the right to the Pursuit of Happiness.
Let your children learn to pursue their own happiness and you focus on yours.