Enough Already With the Entitled Children!

I can’t take it anymore!  These entitled children make me want to scream!

You’ve seen it.  I’m sure you have.  Kids walking around like they do no wrong, disrespecting adults and people of authority, and parents who let them get away with everything.  It literally makes me want to scream…WAKE UP PARENTS, WAKE UP!!!!!!!  Stop living in a cloud!  Your kids are not as “good” as you think they are.  I repeat, your kids are NOT as good as you think they are!

I have recently seen some things that would make any parent cringe inside.  I come from an era that when your parent or any other adult for that matter talks to you or asks you a question, you act and respond with respect.  When and if on that one off day you were in a bad mood and didn’t follow that one simple rule, you’d be grounded.  Your parents stuck to their guns and they grounded you, not for just a day or two, but for a week or longer.  You could only go to school and home…that was it.  You had no contact with the outside world…none, whatsoever!  Today, parents are afraid to make their kids mad.  It’s so wrong!  If a tween or teen has to be asked 5 times to pick something up and throw it away and completely ignores you, or argues with you that it isn’t theirs, what is that saying?  You’ve lost control and you might as well just pack your bags and go.  That is a complete lack of respect for you and your belongings and that is NOT ok.   God forbid you upset your child!  I know, their life will be over if they have to actually do something helpful.

Now days, I’ve seen kids bully their parents into getting their way.  I’ve seen kids talk in a very condescending way to teachers, adults, parents, peers and it really does have to stop.  Parents need to know that you cannot and should not be your kids friend without being a parent first.

I have a great relationship with my children and for that I am extremely grateful.  They know that they can trust me.  They know that I respect them as individuals.  However, they also know that if they are disrespectful or do anything that causes me to question their motives or their actions, I go from friend to parent and take the necessary actions.  If my children are out of line, I make sure they know what they did wrong and how they could have better handled themselves and/or the situation.   Will they make mistakes, absolutely.  Will they learn from them…hopefully.  But man, parents, you have got to have your head in the game or you’ll soon realize your kids have been playing you like a fiddle and will sit back and literally laugh at you.  {I’ve seen that too.}

I’m pretty sure your kids are on social media and I’m guessing at least 75% of parents aren’t checking in to see what their kids are up to.  And by checking in, I mean, spying {or as my daughter calls it, stalking} and doing random spot checks on their phones.  Now you can agree or disagree, I don’t really care, but I do what I do to protect my children.  Why?  Because I am their PARENT and that is what a PARENT does!  Yes, it is extremely hard to be a parent in todays fast-paced social media world, but if you don’t ask questions, if you don’t know what they are doing or saying on social media, and if you don’t educate them on the dangers of being on social media, you better start…NOW!!!  I am always stalking my kids Twitter, Instagram, Vine, and what ever social media platform they have and I’ll call them out on things that I don’t feel is appropriate.  I even check random text messages, just because I can.  Hell, I pay for that phone they are using, so it is my right as their paying parent to check each and every device they own!

I have seen and read some pretty horrific things posted on social media.  I have seen kids posting things about their parents and their so called friends.  I have seen kids say very mean, hurtful things and I have seen the same actions from some parents.   In this case, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree if you know what I mean.  I sit there and read this stuff and wonder, where are their parents?  What are they doing?  Do they not know that their kids are experimenting with sex, drugs, alcohol and who knows what else?  Do they not see that their kids are hurting inside that they are hurting themselves on the outside?  It scares me to see so many tweens and teens posting such deep feelings and cries for help.   Parents, where are you?  And, please, I don’t want to hear that you don’t have time for this!  That’s all your kids ever want is your time!!!  MAKE the time!

You are not doing your child any good by constantly being their friend.   If you are afraid to be a parent, you are setting your child up for instant failure.   There is a time and a place to be their friend and a time and a place to be their parent.  Your job is to know when that time and place is for each and act accordingly.    Stop being afraid to say no.  Stop ignoring the signs of the entitled child.  Start parenting for God sakes!