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    Turn Around Entitled Kids Who’ve had Endless Fun & Gotten all They Want

    10KViews Modified: Jun 20, 2021 · Published: Jan 1, 2018
    By Jacqueline 4 Comments

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    How To Unspoil a Child Who's Had Endless Fun & Gotten All They Want. A young boy and girl exploding with excitement over a game on a laptop.

    (Image Source: Creative Commons)

    We’ve created an artificial fun, fun, fun world for our children. The moment it’s quiet, some of us run to entertain them, otherwise we feel we aren’t doing our parenting duty.

    Despite all our greatest intentions, we unfortunately are reinforcing our children’s brains and future behavior in the wrong direction.

    30 Tips for Parents
    Get your PDF: 30 Tips to Help Parents of Boys!
     

    Parenting misconceptions that confuse the issue

    10 common parenting misconceptions have the potential to mislead parents on their parenting journey and consequently have a negative impact on a child’s future. Not all parents believe these things, but many do.

    1. “My child needs to be kept busy. The more fun activities she has, the better she behaves.”
    2. “He will outgrow it.”
    3. “My daughter/son was born like that.”
    4. “There is nothing I can do about my child’s behavior.”
    5. “Educational computer games and TV programs are good for my child.”
    6. “The school/teacher is the problem. My child has no issues at home.”
    7. “My child has so much energy. I signed him/her up for many extracurricular activities.”
    8. “My son is picky with his clothes, food, etc. I buy him only what he likes.”
    9. “My 4-year old is not ready to go to bed until 10pm. She doesn’t need much sleep.”
    10. “My son/daughter is just like me.”

    But the truth is, the earlier parents address their child’s challenges, the greater the chances are that a child’s challenges won’t become an obstacle in his/her life path. 

    We must do something about it or lose even more generations!

     

    Practical help for parents who feel the need to provide endless fun 

    Parenting Magazine, which I don’t always recommend for advice, published a GREAT article (in my humble opinion) on some of the basics of how to unspoil your kids.

    In “Unspoil Your Child”, Denise Schipani writes:

    Parents cave for all sorts of well-intentioned reasons. We like to please our kids and create fun memories. We want trips to stores and restaurants to be pleasant and hassle-free.

    Plus, giving in is a lot easier than saying no. Many moms and dads also feel guilty for the time they spend away from their children, whether due to work, the need to run errands, or (heaven forbid) the opportunity to socialize with other adults. It’s understandable.

    Although there’s nothing wrong with buying your kid an occasional small toy during a supermarket run or taking him to the zoo as a special treat, you raise the risk of creating a spoiled brat if you do these things in response to his incessant pleading. Your job is to reinforce good behavior, not bad.

    But too often things go the other way.

    In a Parents poll, 42 percent of readers admitted that their child is spoiled and 80 percent think spoiling kids now will affect them in the long term. You do your kids a terrible disservice if they go out into the world thinking it revolves around them.

    If your child acts entitled, it’s not too late to reverse this behavior with the help of these attitude-adjusting tactics.

     

    1.) Avoid apologizing for disappointments.

    “I’m sorry” (or “please forgive me”) has its place in family life, for example, when you lose your temper or accidentally throw away your child’s precious artwork. But there’s no need to be remorseful about not being able to buy her pricey boots that aren’t in your budget or putting off a trip to the park because you have to cook dinner. It’s beneficial to empathize with her disappointment, since doing so shows that you respect her feelings. 

    “Helping a child accept that she won’t get everything she wants is an important life lesson,” notes Karen Ruskin, Psy.D. (That said, if you promised her a playground visit and can no longer swing it, you should express regret for the change of plans.) If your 6-year-old remains determined to get those Uggs, say something like, “Yes, those are awesome boots. Let’s team up on this one. Here’s what I’m willing to pay toward them; you can save for the rest.” This gives her some control over the decision and lets her know that she needs to earn special things rather than simply be given them.

    2.) Stop the meltdowns.

    More than once on her shopping trips, Mary Austin, of Lincoln, Nebraska, has dashed down the baby-care aisle, tear open a package of pacifiers, and hand them to her two girls to stop their screeching. To Austin, buying extra Binkies was a small price to pay for doing her errands in peace. But pay she did — by teaching Kandi, then 4, and Macaulay, then 3, that crying got them exactly what they wanted.

    No parent likes listening to a tantrum, whether it’s from a child who refuses to leave a playdate or an 8-year-old who slams her door over your refusal to buy her a cell phone.

    But giving in is far worse.

    The main reason a kid will continue to have meltdowns is that they’re successful. Don’t engage the behavior and it will stop … eventually.

    If you’re home, simply ignore it (as long as your child is not in danger of hurting herself or others), suggests McCready. While you need to keep an eye on your tantruming child in a public place, giving the behavior too much attention virtually guarantees a repeat performance. Instead, calmly take your child to the car where she can finish, as Austin learned to do. When kids realize that you won’t be manipulated when they make a scene, they’re less likely to try that tactic in the future.

     

    3.) Teach your kids the lost art of patience.

    Spoiled kids feel entitled not only to get the things they want but to get them immediately. We live in a touch-screen world of instant gratification. 

    We tend to say yes more often than we should. But doing so won’t help your child learn to be patient or discriminating.

    Negotiating (like with the Ugg boots in #1 above to develop way for her to earn them) or at least holding off on indulgences will help your child develop self-discipline and allow him to place a higher value on the things he receives. Dr. Lichtman recalls that after his then 5-year-old daughter began getting an allowance, he didn’t buy her a balloon at the street fair that year. “I said, ‘If you really want one, you can use your own money.'” She wound up using her cash for something else.

    It’s critical to teach your kids restraint by example. Look for opportunities for them to see you waiting for the things you want. If you see a pair of jeans at the mall that you decide not to buy, for instance, let your child know why (“They fit well, but my old jeans still look good” or “I’ll wait until they go on sale”). 

     

    4.) Give encouragement (and genuine love) instead of fun stuff and gifts.

    My son Daniel is far from the best soccer player on his team. He enjoys the camaraderie and post game time as much as the games. So when he assisted on a goal last season, I almost bought him something special to mark the occasion. I wanted to make it more fun! I’m glad I didn’t make that mistake. He got ample payoff from reading about the “great goal-winning pass by Daniel in the second quarter” in the coach’s weekly e-mail of game highlights.

    A child who receives compensation for every little accomplishment will start to lose his natural drive to excel at things. By contrast, specific praise (“You’ve worked hard on your passing, and it paid off in today’s match”) will stick with your child a lot longer and boost his motivation. 

    Excerpt by Denise Schipani, Parenting Magazine

    One last thought: Stop need to stop asking your children what they need, what they want, how they like it…..these are simple things to quit doing if one is. The subliminal to a child is the world revolves around what they like, want, need. Parents don’t have to ask this way, most of them know. I used to do that.  It raises the expectation that they deserve fun and games all the time! We must stop warping our children’s idea of reality.

    Jackie’s Note: here is a printable list of 30 more ways to help your kids
     

    “Our children don’t need us to be perfect (thankfully!). They just need us to be faithful. And God can take that simple faithfulness and turn it into something wonderful in due time.” ~Jonathan Lewis

    “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” ~Galatians 6:9

    Turn Around Spoiled Kids Who've had Endless Fun & Gotten all They Want. A young boy and a girl cheering wildly over a game or something exciting on their laptop.
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    Hi! I’m Jacqueline!

    Thanks for being part of this journey with me.
    Welcome to my own little place on the internet! Home is where I love to be. I feel there is no greater place to incubate souls. These days you’ll find me using my experiences here to write about herbal remedies and natural health research — a big passion of mine. But being a wife and mother is not easy. It is challenging and potentially lonely. I get that. I wanted to create a place to connect with and support other moms for creating a natural, healthy, and fulfilling home life.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Juila Hart

      September 25, 2018 at 6:20 am

      Very nice article. I think every parent should read this one. Some are simple techniques on how to train your kids but sometimes parents forget about these things. This is really worth sharing.

      Reply
      • Jacqueline

        September 25, 2018 at 10:27 am

        Thank you, Julia! Very encouraging! I needed this today.
        Blessings!

        Reply
    2. Courtney

      August 20, 2019 at 9:53 am

      Great parenting article!! I just wish there was a way to remove the extremely inappropriate ads that are peppered throughout this piece before I forward it to family and friends. ?

      Reply
      • Jacqueline

        August 20, 2019 at 12:34 pm

        Courtney, I have opted out of 2/3rds os all the kinds of ads. Bc Google knows your buying habits with artificial intelligence marketing, the ads you see on your computer and reflecting the things YOU have searched for. The ads I see will reflect what I search for, not you. One woman told me there were inappropriate bathing suits on her computer, but it turned out her daughter had searched the week before for a tankini for her time at camp… she finally understood that her searches were driving her ad content…it is artificial intelligence…They know WAY more about us they we ever wanted them to!! So your friends and family will see ads that reflect thier buying/searching tastes…
        I am so sick and sad of where this world is headed! We have given up so much for the expediency of online services and the web. What it had promised, it has failed to deliver!
        I am glad you felt comfortable to share that with me, friend! ~J

        Reply

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