By Nneka Jibunoh
Parenthood can be one of the most difficult things in the world. And in our effort to do everything we can to ensure our kids are happy, we risk raising children who end up feeling entitled. Unfortunately, most parents are totally unaware of the damage that they are causing and by the time it comes to light it may be too late.
Signs of Entitlement:
- Nothing is ever enough
- The throw tantrums when they do not get their way and cannot handle being told no
- They believe that rules apply to others and not to them
- They crave an unreasonable amount of attention from one or more people close to them
- They do not accept responsibility for things they do wrong
- They want what they want when they want it
- Blames others for all the bad things in their life
It manifests in a total disconnect from reality; they can’t handle rejection and interpret it as a lack of love or care. Close relationships become affected, especially within the family as other children have grown up in the same household seeing how differently one child was treated.
How we can avoid the problem:
- We need to learn to say no to our children, they should not be allowed to get and do whatever they want
- Do not do everything for them. They are quite cable of making their beds, washing dishes, tidying up their rooms. It will not kill them
- They need to learn to be responsible for their actions. Teach them to apologise when they do something wrong
- Teach them the value of working hard to get what you want. They need to understand that life is not served to them on a platter
We must as parents try out hardest to ensure that we do not focus on overcompensating any of our children because we believe that child needs more of our attention than others. No should mean no and tantrums shouldn’t always be a reason to give in.
