How Not to Raise Entitled Kids; Teach Them to Appreciate What They Have

entitled kids parenting Dr. Traci Baxley

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Jul 22, 10:41 pm

Teaching kids proper conduct and good manners will help them not to be entitled in the future and build and develop good character. When raising well-rounded kids, everything must start with the family. Children must feel that their voices and feelings are prioritized.

The study, "How to Help Your Three-Year-Old Develop Empathy," determined that children start to show genuine compassion and empathy and are capable of understanding their feelings.

According to Modern Parenting, learning and practicing Family Values at home can help parents raise a good example and avoid raising entitled kids.

Ways to avoid having entitled kids

Explain to your kids to appreciate every single thing they have.

Making their beds, doing their laundry, and unloading the dishwasher are life skills that display the value of learning responsibility as children need to experience physical labor's demands.

Teach them to realize the value of every penny. Avoid giving everything to your kids, as they might think that money just shoots out of your card whenever you need it.

Make your children know the value of hard work and that getting an allowance shouldn't come easy. Make them run some errands as this will teach them to treasure their possessions with respect and remember how hard they had to work to be able to get them.

In "New Studies Link Gene To Selfish Behavior in Kids, Find Other Children Natural Givers," kids grow up with a sense of entitlement mainly because of over-parenting and overindulging. Children brought up this way are selfish, don't show empathy for others, lack a strong work ethic, and may not behave according to rules, as they feel it doesn't apply to them.

Children can be taught to be giving and friendly individuals from a very young age. Teach them to be grateful, pick out toys they no longer use, and take them to shelters for less fortunate children so that they will grow into conscientious adults, per Life Hack.

Train them with life lessons

Dr. Traci Baxley, professor, parenting coach, and author of "Social Justice Parenting: How to Raise Compassionate Anti-Racist Justice Minded Kids in an Unjust World," stated that one cannot always experience what someone else has gone through; thus, human-level connection through volunteering can help children be familiar with the usual things a community does.

Everything must start with communication, being open to questions and ideas, and learning to respond respectfully, lead, and teach by example. This will help them to determine their own mistakes and seek solutions swiftly.

These things have to be taught for children to learn the principle of prioritizing others and placing value on their well-being instead of thinking about themselves. This is one of the best ways not to have entitled kids, per Sunshine and Hurricanes.