Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World

The only thing a child is really entitled to is his parents’ love. Not to keep up with the Joneses. Not a brand new bike or iPad. Just love. Every child deserves to be loved by his or her parents. If a child has your unconditional love, he has the greatest asset in the world.

there are greater and more important pursuits available to us than material possessions.

parents who want less-entitled kids have to be less entitled themselves, and parents who want to raise more grateful kids need to start by living more grateful lives.

Entitlement didn’t start with my kids. It began with me. I entitled them because I was entitled.

with a room full of stuff, I don’t think I’ve ever felt emptier.

What had once been more than enough eventually became not enough.

houses have nearly tripled in size and families have gotten smaller.

the idea of the American Dream has become much more materialistic in the past few decades . . . “Bigger, better, faster, and more” has defined it recently.

We often buy things not so much because we need them, but because we feel like we deserve them.

Starting from preschool, our kids are taught conformity —to be like everyone else, to follow rules and not misstep. It’s in our human makeup to want to fit in,