The Entitlement Trap

When my mother was a little girl, she remembers going with her mother to deliver a box of food to a family in need. Inside the home, the needs were great. A new baby slept inside a small makeshift cradle made out of a cardboard box. Another child, this one a little older, had only a pile of blankets on the floor for a bed. Food was scarce, circumstances worse than difficult. My grandmother delivered the food, I imagine spoke a few words of kindness to the family and then left. My mother tells me that before pulling out of the drive, my grandmother fell to her knees behind the door of her car and wept.

I know that such an experience had an impact on my mother. Just the hearing of it has an impact on me. We need such reminders, I think - reminders to look outside ourselves and realize that this world is far bigger than we are. It's one of the most important lessons I think our children can ever learn. And yet, we live in a world where children feel automatically entitled. Food is plentiful. Education is guaranteed. Information and entertainment is but a click away. These are blessings, yes. But I think if not properly appreciated, blessings can create spoiled, entitled children that feel they shouldn't have to work hard, and think gratitude is for the birds. Perhaps I'm overgeneralizing. But I imagine any parent that has ever had an obstinate child stomp their foot and say, "BUT I WANT IT!" understands my concern and shares my worry that kids these days are too entitled. 

So how do we fight it? We can volunteer with our kids, teach them about service and try and help them see the desperate need that fills the corners of this world, so they might in turn realize how much they have to be grateful for. But will it stick? Certainly not if in the same breath we are doling out an excessive allowance, adding minutes to our kids' cell phones, or allowing them to laze their days away playing video games or watching television. How can we make kids SEE the world, and understand their role in it? How do we keep them from feeling entitled, from waltzing through life thinking they deserve anything and everything? 

There is a new book, soon to be released, that addresses this very issue. It talks about parenting methods at the very core of our families that can help avoid the entitlement trap. The book, aptly named, The Entitlement Trap, by Richard and Linda Eyre is due out on September 6th and I can't wait to read it. I've long admired the Eyre family for their consistent, positive contributions to the world of parenting literature. I know this book will be a valuable addition to my library. 

I've already pre-ordered my copy, and I hope you'll take a minute to do the same thing. Why? Well, the more we pre-order, the more likely it is for the book to climb it's way up the charts. The higher it gets on the Best Seller lists, the more likely it is that others will see it. And this book is a book that every parent needs to read. Will you check out the link below and learn a little more? 

The Entitlement Trap 

Here, you can learn more about the book and find the links to your favorite retailer so you can pre-order. You can also click through to Values Parenting, a great resource for ideas and principles on parenting happy, healthy children. So go, read, feel yourself gain wisdom with every word. 

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And now for the disclosure: When I read this book, it will be because I paid for my own copy. I tell you about it only because I think entitlement is a HUGE problem among children (and lets be real... grown ups too) and that we, as parents need to combat this trend by teaching our children to be reasonable, responsible, contributing members of society. I'm getting nothing for my opinion. This is not an infomercial... yada, yada, yada.