Reader comments
Is your child a spoiled brat?

Anonymous | 12:28 p.m. July 10, 2009

Yea it's no wonder that so many kids have NO RESPECT for adults at all. Why should they when they're taught that they are the center of the universe? Scolding can be good. And punishing can be good. Otherwise you get kids who think they're entitled to everything.

I was spanked and slapped on occasion. It was not excessive and only happened when I deserved it. The result was a well-adjusted adult who respects others and is willing to give from time to time rather than simply take. I'm far from perfect and I'm not always as nice as I should be, but I'm certainly not spoiled. Loved, but definitely not spoiled.

P.S. Grounding kids does absolutely nothing. Most of them don't care and they will always end up doing what they aren't supposed to do anyway. Find a different way to punish your kids.

Seeing results first hand | 1:40 p.m. July 10, 2009

My Husband's oldest brother is the perfect example of this issue. He has been in and out of prison/jail since he was 16. He is a drug addict who milks his parents for all their worth just to get a little gratification - all the while verbally abusing them to no end. He is now HIV positive as a result of his drug use. The list goes on.. Even now, at 36, if he isn't given what he wants exactly when he wants it, he literally throws a tantrum like a 3 year old would. My belief is that, had his parents given him boundries, rules, curfews, punishments, etc. This could have prevented a lot of this kind of behavior. I grew up in a home where all of those things were enforced. I would never speak to either parent the way he does.. for fear that my dad would knock me out! It is amazing the kind of treatment he extends to them when they have done so much for him already. But to a spoiled child/adult, "thats then, now is now, and you had better give me what I want."

Anonymous | 5:23 p.m. July 12, 2009

Teaching your child to earn something that they want, wait for something they want or help in any way to get something they want will help help them be better stewards of their money, finances managing debt, and the responsibility of taking care of the item/thing they wanted. I was raised this way and am grateful for it.

I've seen people get what they want and it's not healthy. Children who get what they want and when they want it surely don't have/show respect for their parents. It's draining on the parents emotionally and financially.

Materialistic things don't make you happy. Relationsips make you happy.

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