Is Your Kid Entitled?

"Get me a drink of water," demanded the seven-year-old girl on the couch. A few minutes later the sibling chimed in with, "Bring me some chips!" The please and thank you manners were painfully missing. Dad was oblivious to what was happening as mom continued to cater their demands throughout the day. For dinner, Mom made them each separate dinners. At the ended of the day, Mom looked exhausted.

I don't think this Mom or Dad had any clue that they were raising entitled children. They were just trying to give their children the best life they knew how.

How can we tell if we are raising entitled children? Here are 16 signs:

Signs Your Kid is Entitled

Asks to be waited on.
Wants you to make different food from the other family members.
Wants instant gratification without earning it.
Has a "what's in it for me attitude?"
Does just enough to get by.
Uses emotional blackmail when asked to do something.
Lacks gratefulness and/or manners.
You end up doing chores for them.
They often shows dissatisfaction.
Has a lack of concern for others.
Blames others for their actions.
Quits or gets frustrated when things aren't going their way.
Feels like the rules don't apply.
Not satisfied - wants more...and more.
Overindulges in things like screen time, food or sleeping.
Is disrespectful of things - i.e. clothes, toys.

Why is it Important Not to Raise Entitled Kids?

One big reason is so that you don't have children that experience the "Failure to Launch Syndrome" - children who live at home until the mid to late twenties or return home after a failed attempt to make it in the world.

In addition, when the real world fails to live up to an entitled person's expectations, they often react in non-constructive ways. They get angry and blame others. When people think that they should have everything they want - often for nothing - it comes at the cost of relationships with others and, ultimately, their own happiness.

Perhaps the most demoralizing aspect of entitlement is that they lack self-reliance because then never learned the necessary tools to get what they want through hard work and effort.

Stay tuned for next week's Parenting Practice - "How Not to Raise an Entitled Child."

Parenting Practice - Teach and turn over one responsibility that you are doing that your children could do for themselves.

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