WASHINGTON — Parents who think they’re being helpful may be fostering an overblown sense of entitlement in their children.
“There are a couple of signs and symptoms,” says the founder of Positive Parenting Solutions, Inc. Amy McCready. “These (signs) apply to younger kids and older kids.”
Behavior parents should look out for that McCready says could signal a sense of entitlement in children include the following:
- Acting helpless;
- Not taking “no” for an answer;
- Expecting parents to accomplish tasks they are capable of doing;
- Repeatedly expecting to be rescued, i.e. with the delivery of homework, lunchboxes, books or sports gear.
McCready, who is the author of the book “The ‘Me, Me, Me’ Epidemic – A Step By Step Guide to Raising Capable, Grateful Kids in an Over-Entitled World,“ says parents may be perpetuating needy or entitled behavior in children by “over-parenting.”
Red flags for parental behavior include the following:
- Overpraising children;
- Overindulging children;
- Jumping through hoops trying to make children perfectly happy;
- Repeated rescues for emergencies created by a child’s negligence.
McCready says parents can avoid being too helpful in a counterproductive way by holding children responsible for things such as performing family chores and accomplishing school responsibilities.
In age-appropriate situations, McCready advises parents to back off on enabling.
“Putting kids in charge is going to go a long way,” McCready says.