Once, my son bonked his head against the wall while throwing a tantrum. Mightily, he yelled,
"𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹! 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁!" (he wasn't) followed by, "Why can't I just have a break day?!" (he had already played the whole day)
I held back my chuckles at the time and after attending to his slightly bruised head (and ego), I taught him about 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
I love this definition by Google: "Entitlement is the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment."
𝟮 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗯 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝘁!
When your Child (or a pesky colleague) asks for something unreasonable like, "Why don't you buy me a PS5? All my friends have oneeee~!"
Don't say, "Ask your friends' dad to adopt you, then."
Instead, try asking, "What can YOU do to speed up the process?"
Then give guidance, "Is there room for improvement in your grades?" or "What can you do to help around the house?"
𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
I love this saying, "Life should not be about the pursuit of happiness, but rather an expression of joy."
Start telling your kids how much you appreciate the smallest things around you, every day.
"I appreciate how the alarm clock wakes us up on time."
"I appreciate you helping me with the dishes."
"I appreciate Mama making such a lovely breakfast for us."
In time, they too will develop a warm sense of love and appreciation. They will focus on the great things happening in their lives, instead of dwelling on their lacks.
𝗔 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁
It's also well worth mentioning to our Children that HARD WORK does not always equal desired results. But, we can ALL learn to appreciate the lesson we learnt on the journey.
