Spoiled Rotten

We’re lavishing our kids with unwarranted praise, trying to be their BFFs instead of their parents, and giving them anything they ask for. Where have we gone wrong?

As her neighbor’s party was beginning to wind down, Elizabeth rounded up her two sons and asked them to help clean up the playroom, which was littered with toys and games. But before the boys had a chance to pitch in, the hostess announced to the dozen or so kids in the room that she’d pay them each a dollar to straighten up. Elizabeth looked at her in disbelief. “I had to tell her—and my kids--that they would just help. It was awkward.”

In the olden days, we picked up our toys because our parents told us to. We went grocery shopping with our mothers without an iPhone or a constant flow of snacks to keep us entertained. Our parents didn’t shuttle us to activities every day after school; we played kick-the-can in the neighborhood until dark. We set up lemonade stands and walked dogs to earn money to buy an Atari cartridge or a Snoopy Sno Cone Machine—or we saved up our allowance. We were bored sometimes…and our parents didn’t care.

So where have we gone wrong?

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2015/06/30/parenting-spoiled-kids/