If you are a parent, you know that you want to provide for your kids and make sure they have everything that they need. Need is the key word here. Although you want your kids to be happy, it is important that you teach them some key things about their wants.
The first thing you must do is teach them that they can’t have everything they want, and below are three reasons why:
1. If you let them have everything they want, you are teaching them that in life you always get everything you want as soon as you want it. Obviously this cannot last forever. Once these kids grow up they are going to see that their every whim will not be satisfied, yet they will still expect this. The result will be unsatisfactory relationships and unrealistic expectations leading to a life full of disappointments and heartaches.
2. If you let them have everything they want, your kids will never be able to see or understand the consequences of endless spending. They won’t realize that you may even be going into debt in order to satisfy their every whim. In turn, when they grow up and have to manage their own money, they will have no idea of the consequences of overspending and will likely end up in a great deal of debt without realizing it.
3. If you give your kids everything they want, they may develop an unhealthy perception of relationships. They may come to equate your giving them stuff to your loving them. This is dangerous. What if down the road you can no longer give them everything? They will then think you no longer love them. As a parent, you need to ensure that your kids know you love them regardless of what you can buy for them. Your love and acceptance should be affirmed completely separately from your gift giving.
The bottom line is that kids need you; they don’t need a bunch of useless stuff. They may think they do, but deep down they just want to know that you care. So don’t feel pressured into giving into your child’s every whim and desire. Believe me, down the road they will thank you for not spoiling them.
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