Earn It!: What to Do When Your Kid Needs an Entitlement Intervention

by Michael G Wetter, Eileen Bailey

Overview

Does your family suffer from “affluenza” exhaustion? Are you confused by the “Me! ME! ME!!!” attitude of your child? Whether your child is six, sixteen, or thirty-six years old, it may be time for an entitlement intervention. Change yourself to change your children.

It’s easy to judge today’s younger generations—children, teens, and young adults who think they deserve to have their individuality celebrated and their happiness prioritized. So what happens when your kid—whom you don’t recall lavishing with excessive rewards or money—acts entitled, as though everything should be about his wants or her needs? Good news: from any age, you can help your child evolve into a confident and motivated adult who understands that many of the best things in life are earned.

Starting with a ten-question quiz to determine “How Entitled Is My Kid?,” Earn It! What to Do When Your Kid Needs an Entitlement Intervention will teach you how to create a family culture where responsibilities are honored, praise has meaning, decisions are made skillfully, and gratitude is second nature. You’ll find practical tips on chores and allowances, friends and social media, co-parenting, and cultivating true resilience. With family exercises and parent challenges drawn from real-life family scenarios, this book provides an opportunity to reflect on how you can adjust your parenting style to create a family dynamic that nurtures your children into generous, balanced, and hard-working adults.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616497170
Publisher:	Hazelden Publishing
Publication date:	10/24/2017
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Michael G. Wetter, PsyD, and Eileen Bailey are also the authors of What Went Right: Reframe Your Thinking for a Happier Now. A nationally recognized behavioral health expert, Wetter is a diplomate and fellow of the American Psychotherapy Association and has served on the California State Licensing Board of Psychology. Bailey, a freelance writer specializing in behavioral health topics, is the coauthor of Idiot’s Guides: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and The Essential Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Take an Honest Look 1

Quiz: How Entitled Is My Child? 8

Part 1 Entitlement Is a Family Dynamic 11

Chapter 1 What Is Entitlement? 13

Chapter 2 "I Just Want Him to Be Happy": How Parents Enable Entitled Attitudes 25

Chapter 3 The Entitlement Culture 43

Chapter 4 What the Future Holds 61

Part 2 Change Yourself, Change Your Child 75

Chapter 5 Change Yourself, Change Your Child 77

Chapter 6 Respect: Model It, Teach It 89

Chapter 7 Gratitude Takes Practice 101

Chapter 8 Stop Rescuing Your Child 113

Chapter 9 Why Routines Matter 123

Chapter 10 Kids, Chores, and Money 133

Chapter 11 Equip Your Child to Make Good Choices 145

Chapter 12 Dealing with Feelings 157

Chapter 13 Why Words Matter: Kindness in Action 167

Chapter 14 Give Back 177

Chapter 15 Declarations of Independence: Finding Your Way with Power Struggles 187

Chapter 16 A United Front: Bringing Others on Board 197

Afterword 207

Acknowledgments 209

Notes 211

Bibliography 213

About the Authors 215

Editorial Reviews

09/15/2017
According to behavioral health expert Wetter, PsyD, and freelance writer Bailey (both, What Went Right), entitlement, unlike "affluenza," isn't dependent on wealth and privilege. In fact, the authors aptly illustrate how entitlement flourishes just as frequently in lower-income families, in which parents who struggle to make ends meet overly compensate with excessive rewards, or divorced parents who set few limits in order to make time spent with the child fun and exciting. Unfortunately, these kids often become unhappy without even knowing it; they lack resilience and thus the satisfaction of experiencing a job well done. However, parents can rest easy that they are not to blame for everything, as the authors explore many contributing factors to entitlement, including frequent moves, which contribute to selfishness as a result of the child not knowing the community as well as they used to, and feeling they must look out for Number One. VERDICT Through reevaluating chores, allowances, rewards, and coparenting, parents can teach kids to honor responsibility, inspire gratitude, and return praise to a meaningful place in the home. Recommended.

Library Journal