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Help! My child is spoiled!

I feel Christmas always brings out the worst in kids and they begin to act spoiled and greedy.  Maybe your kids are already like this and you feel it’s out of control.  They complain someone received more or you hear, “Where’s the next gift!”.  There are a few things that you can do throughout the year to teach your kids to chill out and enjoy what they have.

Help! My child is spoiled

  1.  Make a chore chart and give an allowance.  Kids learn a lot about working for their money.  I did a series on teaching kids about money and you can read it here.
  2. Let them spend their own money.  My kids ask for things at the store all the time- gum, candy, and they love concession stands.  I never buy little things like this because it adds up VERY quickly.  My kids buy their own treats like this.
  3. Explain ahead of time what is expected and the appropriate way to respond.  If your child gets a gifts they didn’t want, then teach them to respond in a polite manner.
  4. Give to others that are less fortunate.  This is something my kids love to do and luckily, you can do things that are free.  Community organizations are always looking for volunteers.  Kids can help out at many of these.  They can help organize coats and bag up food.
  5. Tell family members to save their money.  Many grandparents love to spoil their kids, but if your kids can’t handle all the gifts and you feel like it’s affecting them in a negative way, tell them to chill out.  Suggest they spend their money on an outing that they can do with the child instead.
  6. Teach kids to take care of the things that they have.  You should see my garage.  Neighborhood kids just leave their stuff in our yard and driveway.  I have sweatshirts, scooters, nerf guns, and hats.  Some have been in there over a year.  Kids need to learn to appreciate the things they have and take care of them.

You can start implementing some or all of these throughout the year when opportunities arise.  It’s easy to make changes in a gradual way and they won’t even realize.   Do you have an ideas that I can add to my list?

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