Evidence of an Entitled Child
Oh man. Everyday I am amazed at how I have unintentionally raised entitled children. Here are some of my kids' recent woes:
The soap is does not spell "pretty" enough. (Also, anytime someone doesn't have "floam" (foam) soap - the person may not know about it, so my kids see this as an opportunity to educate them on the amazing thing that is "floam soap".)
There may be children starving, but there is no way my daughter is willing to eat that because of the color bowl it is in!!! Yes. COLOR. #bowlpocalypse (This also applies, but not limited to - utensils, cups & frosting).
The green pants he wanted to wear aren't in his drawer. It's reasonable in his mind because he only has 8 other options. (Oh my goodness child!)
Grandma gave me a donut last week, so we will scream every time we pass a shop we think resembles a donut shop until you get us one. (It's ok mom - I forgive you.) When we ask nicely (a few days later) and the lady at the donut shop also gives us cookies, we will meltdown because you won't let us eat both the cookies and donuts immediately.
She was using a red crayon and it broke. She can no longer use it. Now she'll have to find another red crayon in the exact shade. She finds at least six other shades of red (such as red-orange, maroon & scarlet) and doesn't like any of them. She would rather stop coloring. It's too upsetting.
While it honestly disappoints me that I am raising kids who care so deeply about such annoyingly stupid things, it makes me also see the need not to focus on pleasing them. They will never be satisfied by anything I can give them.
I understand they don't mean to be entitled, but the children who have everything they need find more ways to complain than kids who need everything. In order to have kids who don't complain, I'm realizing more and more that I don't need to give them everything they want. I should help them think of others - use their gifts and talents to encourage and help others. Serving God and others is what will make them feel content (vs trying to be happy).
Nothing makes me more proud when my kids decide to give their toy or share something with someone. It may be silly to most, but my oldest son, Jacob (7) was playing with a little boy who was about two years old who came over around Valentine's Day. I remember that day because Jacob decided to give that little boy one of his paw patrol valentines he received at school.
This blew my mind because my son had literally been talking about his valentines every single time I was willing to listen. Every. Time. He carried the bag around and would look at the valentines before bed and read who each one was from. He didn't feel accepted at his (relatively new) school and every kid brought him a valentine. He was especially fond of the paw patrol and lego ones. It probably didn't mean much to the two year old, but to Jacob, he was finding a way to show he cared about that toddler. He wanted him to know he cared.
So maybe we aren't raising kids who are grateful about everything. (We are definitely not, unfortunately.) But, our kids are finding ways to show others they care. And as they grow, hopefully - if we are intentional and find ways to model it for them - so will their understanding of love and thinking of others.
The soap is does not spell "pretty" enough. (Also, anytime someone doesn't have "floam" (foam) soap - the person may not know about it, so my kids see this as an opportunity to educate them on the amazing thing that is "floam soap".)
There may be children starving, but there is no way my daughter is willing to eat that because of the color bowl it is in!!! Yes. COLOR. #bowlpocalypse (This also applies, but not limited to - utensils, cups & frosting).
The green pants he wanted to wear aren't in his drawer. It's reasonable in his mind because he only has 8 other options. (Oh my goodness child!)
Grandma gave me a donut last week, so we will scream every time we pass a shop we think resembles a donut shop until you get us one. (It's ok mom - I forgive you.) When we ask nicely (a few days later) and the lady at the donut shop also gives us cookies, we will meltdown because you won't let us eat both the cookies and donuts immediately.
She was using a red crayon and it broke. She can no longer use it. Now she'll have to find another red crayon in the exact shade. She finds at least six other shades of red (such as red-orange, maroon & scarlet) and doesn't like any of them. She would rather stop coloring. It's too upsetting.
While it honestly disappoints me that I am raising kids who care so deeply about such annoyingly stupid things, it makes me also see the need not to focus on pleasing them. They will never be satisfied by anything I can give them.
I understand they don't mean to be entitled, but the children who have everything they need find more ways to complain than kids who need everything. In order to have kids who don't complain, I'm realizing more and more that I don't need to give them everything they want. I should help them think of others - use their gifts and talents to encourage and help others. Serving God and others is what will make them feel content (vs trying to be happy).
Nothing makes me more proud when my kids decide to give their toy or share something with someone. It may be silly to most, but my oldest son, Jacob (7) was playing with a little boy who was about two years old who came over around Valentine's Day. I remember that day because Jacob decided to give that little boy one of his paw patrol valentines he received at school.
This blew my mind because my son had literally been talking about his valentines every single time I was willing to listen. Every. Time. He carried the bag around and would look at the valentines before bed and read who each one was from. He didn't feel accepted at his (relatively new) school and every kid brought him a valentine. He was especially fond of the paw patrol and lego ones. It probably didn't mean much to the two year old, but to Jacob, he was finding a way to show he cared about that toddler. He wanted him to know he cared.
So maybe we aren't raising kids who are grateful about everything. (We are definitely not, unfortunately.) But, our kids are finding ways to show others they care. And as they grow, hopefully - if we are intentional and find ways to model it for them - so will their understanding of love and thinking of others.
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