The standard of living has been on an upswing through our entire lives, as we’ve shifted from a nation of mostly rural dwellers to urban dwellers, and have grown into full-flown consumerism. It’s impacting our children.
Some are calling it “Entitlemania,” a sense that because mom and dad are so well off the children will live in the lap of luxury with few responsibilities and only limited awareness of how the real world works. Parenting expert Maria Luce, founder of The Empowered Mom, has a workable definition for the idea. “Similar to what a lot of people call ‘affluenza’,” she explains, referring to a legal case in which a young defendant was said to suffer from his parents’ wealth. “It’s when parents can afford to do things for their kids and then don’t make their children work for it.”
It’s not going to disadvantage anyone to learn we each have to pull our own weight in life, and Luce proposes that the lessons begin while children are still toddlers. It’s as simple as being responsible for picking up toys, and moving into helping with dishes and cleaning. “If you don’t make them doing anything you are going to raise an entitled child. And guess what?! When they get out into the real world you’re hurting them.”
Luce says rather than assigning “chores” to a child, teach them “responsibilities.”