National Entitlement Awareness Day– GIVEAWAY!!!

Did you know that today is National Entitlement Awareness Day!   Well, at least that’s what my parents have named today.  They’re doing their darndest to increase awareness of a growing problem in our society…..a problem I can already see crouching at the edges of my children’s world, ready to pounce on them.   I want to be armed with a good defense.  There are so many families out there dodging this entitlement trap, and I want to be one of them.  I want to raise responsible, grateful, respectful children. 

Just as I was wondering what I would write about to join hundreds of bloggers blogging today about the epidemic of entitlement I came home to this catalogue in the mail:

Are you serious Pottery Barn?  I’m all for my kids having an orderly, aesthetically pleasing room, but a mini fridge in their room stocked with Pellegrino?  Give me a break! Maybe, just maybe they will have that in their college dorm room since they don’t have access to a kitchen, but as a teenager?  Can’t that cool dude kid pry his bum out of that comfy shag covered chair, tear himself away from his fancy computer and iPod, and walk to the kitchen to get himself some tap water?  And we wonder why we’re busting through our debt ceiling!  We have so much we don’t need, and our kids do too. 

Sure, entitlement wears many hats and it’s not really about how much money or stuff you or your kids have. There are a lot of kids who have a lot of stuff but still feel grateful and know how to work (there might even be some with fridges in their rooms).  There are also a lot of kids who don’t have much and are bitter and resentful.  The point isn’t what our kids do or don’t have, it’s how they behave, how they feel about what they have, how the understand the world and their place in it.  And it’s our job as parents to help them navigate this, through example (yikes!) and through building deliberate family systems that help them gain ownership over their lives and responsibilities.

Many of you probably know that my parents are coming out with a new book called The Entitlement Trap.  What an alluring title in the wake of our nations current economic issues, right?  I know I’m just a tiny bit biased, but I think it’s one of their best (and most timely) books yet.  It’s straight forward and full of clear tangible ideas. 

If you’re thinking about how to help your kids avoid entitlement you should buy this book.  And, if you’re thinking about buying it you should pre-order it now.  You can get it at a discounted rate and you’ll be eligible for a big giveaway that they’re conducting.    We’re trying to get a bunch of pre-orders so that they can be listed on the best seller list, helping this book to get into a lot of parents hands. 

Click here to get all the details.