The Entitled Generation

This subject has been long talked about and discussed and argued, but in recent weeks I've had an abundance of "entitled" kids come through the doors and I am absolutely sick of it!

To start off with, I don't have any kids of my own (just two furry babies), and maybe I don't have a right to have a say in this topic until I have my own children, but until I stop dealing with these kinds of kids, then I will stop having an opinion about it!

I am just sick and tired of meeting kids who think that the world revolves around them. And it's not their fault, it's their parents who have given them anything that they want. And yes, I get it, you want the best for your children, but giving them everything they ever want is just going to produce entitled children. Ok, maybe not 100% of the time, but most of the time!

Let me explain what I mean about the 'entitled' children. I mean the children who believe that just because they are here, they deserve everything right at their fingertips. And parents will fight tooth and nail to give them everything without teaching them important life skills like respecting your elders, and even though you might have everything you want, to be humble and basically just KNOW how lucky they are! Not just expect everyone to bend to their every need without them working for it.

I saw it when I was teaching dancing and I see it now when I'm looking after children. Every parent wants their child to feel better and they bring their child into hospital expecting the nurses and doctors to wave their magic wand and make everything better. Sometimes it doesn't happen that way. Sometimes we do have to make them upset while putting oxygen on so that they can breathe properly. Sometimes we have to suction out all their snot so that they can breathe while they feed. Sometimes we have to put an NG tube down their nose so that they will stay hydrated. And unfortunately, sometimes we do have to insert an IV cannula into their little arms (and sometimes legs) so that they can receive life changing medications.

And you know what? We don't want to do any of this! Nobody wants to be a paediatric nurse so that they can make children cry! We do it so that we can see those smiles on the child's face when they feel better, and the laughs that we hear, and the best hugs anybody can receive from a child who is now feeling better. And one of the worst things about my job would have to be when the parents stop us from doing our job because they don't want their child crying.

And this just isn't children in hospital, it's children everywhere. There was a time when teachers were allowed to actually teach the children in the way that they saw fit. Now teachers have to teach on eggshells so that their students don't tell their parents that they've done something wrong and get the teacher in trouble! I find parents just don't want to discipline their child anymore!

Instead of admitting that their child isn't perfect (which no child is), they blame everybody else for their child's short-comings! Well how about turning that finger and pointing it to yourself? And I guess that extends out to the rest of society as well. We LOVE to point the finger and place the blame somewhere that's not near ourselves! But that's another rant for another time! And don't even get me started on giving children iPads and phones to keep them 'quiet'. But again, another rant for another time!

I just find that nowadays, kids can get away with murder. Nothing is their fault and everything should come easily to them. Why? Because it can. Parents don't want to be the parent anymore, they want to be their child's friend. They want to be the 'cool' parent, the one that their kid can turn to if anything goes wrong, the one that will let the child do anything they want. And yes, that can work in some cases, but in most cases that I've seen, the child just grows up spoilt with no respect for their parents and then the parents are left thinking, what did I do wrong?

I remember as a child my parents always gave me everything I needed and I was never want of anything. They gave me a warm house, toys to play with, opportunities to go out and find a sport I enjoyed, always drove me to and from school and dance and tennis and karate and anything else I wanted to do, and were always open to doing something that I wanted to do. However, when I did something naughty (which I have to admit, I was an angel child), I would get yelled at and I would be disciplined! If I didn't get a good grade, then it wasn't the teachers fault, it was mine for not studying hard enough. If I didn't get a part in the dance that I wanted, then it was because the teachers knew best and maybe if I tried a little harder it would be me they would choose and not Jess! (This happened when I was probably around 6 or 7 and I still remember that!). They were always on my side but they also taught me that if I wanted something, then I would have to put some hard work in myself or it just wouldn't happen!

I was very sick in hospital when I was a tween and instead of letting me wallow in self pity, they made me always say thank you to the doctors and nurses and be polite to them. Never did they let me not take any medication, even if it made me sick. Never did they let me get away with anything! Well, to be honest, they were probably more lenient than usual, but my sick, 13 year old self wanted them to basically let me do whatever I wanted. Sometimes I didn't want to say thank you because a nurse put a needle in my arm, but no matter how petulant I was, my parents still made me do it! And I'm glad they did, because it taught me a life lesson. But I cannot count how many times sick children get away with everything just because 'they're sick'. I still remember my parents whispering in my ear that I had to be strong to fight this illness. They didn't leave it all up to the doctors and nurses to cure me, they were telling me that I had to put some hard work to be able to get better. Sound familiar?

And sure, don't be a total hard-ass to your kids, but maybe teaching them some basic manners and respect will ensure your child doesn't grow up just expecting everything to fall in their laps. Because in the real world, it doesn't. And yet, I still see adults in their early 20s expecting jobs and offers to fall in their laps. And when it doesn't? Then it's the companies fault for not hiring them. Or the person who was hiring just hired someone they knew. Never is it because they weren't motivated enough for the job.

But I am stereotyping here. I have met some wonderful families, and some wonderful children, and some wonderful adults. But I do find that the common factor between all these people is the way their parents brought them up. With love, kindness, respect and a healthy dose of discipline. It goes a long way!

p.s. Thank you to my parents who brought me up the best way they knew how!