She borrowed something from me. And then she lost it. Accidents happen.
But it was the whole, “It only cost ten bucks, you can get another one” attitude that I COULDN’T let happen a moment longer.
So, I gave her a job that required hard work, gave her the $10 she earned and then I made her pay me for what she lost.
Listen, when I realized I was more than half the problem in this whole entitlement parenting challenge, it was a wake up call.
Kids naturally want what they haven’t earned, especially if we are handing it out for free.
But what we have is an entire generation of young adults who got everything they ever wanted with little or no work. We have a cultural norm and it’s a problem.
Because reality is, life DOESN’T give us everything we want.
We don’t always get the best jobs or a job at all.
We don’t always have someone rescue us when we have a bad day or replace our boss, just because we don’t like them.
We can’t always have what we want when we want it.
We aren’t always rewarded in life.
Here are 9 things we can get rid of to begin eliminating entitlement in our children:
1. Guilt
Often, we give into our kid’s requests out of guilt. We need to stop feeling guilty for not giving our kids everything they want.
It’s hard to swallow, but we foster the attitude of entitlement in our homes when we are ruled by a guilty conscience.
It’s okay to ask kids to be responsible for what they lose and to require consequences for actions.
2. Overspending
I think it’s good for our kids to hear us say, “We can’t afford that” 0r “We will have to save for it.”
Because that’s real life.
We don’t have ALL the money to buy ALL the things. I’ve known families before who are working multiple jobs to keep kids in extracurricular activities, when honestly, the kids would probably be happier with more family time.
3. Birthday Party Goody Bag (Mentality)
I’ve been guilty of this like most of us. But, really? We take our kids to parties so they can give a gift, but they take a small one home so they won’t feel bad?
It’s not their birthday.
This concept of spoiling kids (which usually goes far beyond goody bags) is temporary fun. It’s okay for them not to be the center of attention.
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