The Generation of Spoiled Parents
Over the past few years, I have been witnessing a generation of spoiled parents. Yes, dear reader, you read that right. I am not talking about spoiled children — I am talking about parents.
These are parents who want their children to grow up and mature, yet at the same time restrict what their children should or should not do. And when the maturation plan does not unfold as expected, they quickly put the "spoiled parent" plan into action.
Let me describe 5 behaviors of spoiled parents so you can better understand what I mean:
- "The parent group is saying that..." I have a WhatsApp group where I bad-mouth the school, teachers, staff, my child's classmates, and so on. In this group, which usually has 30 or more members, I hope that at least 1 person shares my frustration, thereby validating my complaint — even if the other 28 say nothing or don't even see it as a problem.
- I'm pulling him out of that activity right now! I "threaten" to remove my child from the sports club, school, swimming lessons, or any other activity if my demands are not met exactly when and how I want them to be.
- I know what my child is thinking. I constantly say that my child has a heart of gold, even without truly knowing him or her well — and yes, spoiled parents often do not know their children well. This is more common than you might think.
- I know what my child is feeling. If my child goes on a school trip, I want to monitor him every moment and tell others what he is feeling — for instance, that he must be tired from the trip and needs to rest, even without actually knowing or asking whether he is truly tired.
- "My child didn't answer my call at 9 in the morning." I call and text my child constantly, even during class time, and I expect an immediate response. If I don't get one, I call the school right away trying to track him down.
These are just 5 examples I have personally witnessed over the past few years, both in Brazil and in the United States — but there are certainly many other telltale signs.
What about you — do you know a spoiled parent, or are you one?
If you are, there is still time to improve and change your approach.
Think about it and let's keep moving forward! :)
