Survey says kids feel more entitled than ever
The latest edition of the American Freshman Survey says our kids are overconfident; that their actual talent and opinion of themselves are in two totally different places. University of Houston professor Dennis Adams thinks it's because kids aren't allowed to fail.
“As they go into college they are believing that they are good, that they are above average. It’s creating this entitled mentality,” he said.
And Adams thinks helicopter parents are a big reason why our kids feel the way they do about themselves.
“At universities we see a lot of parental involvement in their lives. If a student doesn’t get a proper grade it’s not unusual for a parent to call a professor,” he explained.
Houston therapist Mary Jo Rapini agrees with Adams’ assessment and says the results of the survey come as no surprise to her.
“I absolutely believe it. Kids are becoming more self centered, more egocentric and they are expecting the good life without little effort on their part,” Rapini said.
Rapini says parents are setting their kids up for failure in the real world because we haven't taught them how to handle adversity.
“We’ve made it almost impossible for a child to learn how to pick themselves up and come back after failure. We try to protect them so much,” she explained.
And Rapini says when they do experience failure later in life, it can lead to depression.
