FODDER OF THE WEEK: THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON US - A PSYCHOLOGICAL ARGUMENT AGAINST SPOILING YOUR KIDS ROTTEN

If you were to ask Abraham Maslow (good luck, he's dead) what all human beings require to thrive, he would tell you there are five basic to advanced needs we all should strive to satisfy. Pointing to the findings of his now famous 1943 paper entitled, The Theory of Human Motivation, Maslow suggests there is a hierarchy in which these needs should be fulfilled in order to be the best person you can be.  These needs are as follows:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Well, Maslow didn't live in an age where technology moved faster than the speed of light; an age where kids couldn't give a f--k what their parents or society have to say about their behaviour. So, if you'll indulge me for a moment, I'd like to supply a list of my own, what I like to call my Theory of Human Demotivation, to describe the not-so basic to advanced needs of all the overly spoiled brats many parents seem to be raising these days. 


Basic Needs - A warm bed (queen or king-sized), their own five piece bathroom,  a walk-in closet, a TV (for every room),  an X-Box,  a Cell Phone, a  Laptop, an Ipod, an Ipad, 5 different types of sugar cereals in the cupboard, Soda Pop, a skate board, a mountain bike, a chauffer, a chef, a nanny, and an expense account at the country club cafeteria.

Safety Needs -  An Epi-pen, an Asthma inhaler, a psychiatrist, a nutritionist, Ritalin, an unlimited allowance, a portfolio, an inheritance, numerous pets that they will never care for, a nanny cam, and karate lessons.

Love and Belonging Needs- A mirror to stare at, the most up to date fashions, a birthday party with more kids than they could possibly know, inappropriatly expensive bithday gifts, a hooker for their bar mitzvah ("Today you are man!), a tutor that teaches more than algebra, and a bodyguard to keep the bullies at bay.

Esteem Needs- An unwarranted superiority complex based on their family's wealth, a lack of respect for any authority figure, a need to place blame on others for thier mistakes, an inablity to empathize with any one less fortunate, a reason to make fun of those who have to work for what they get, a liquor cabinet to raid, and a drawer full of prescription and non-prescription drugs to help them get through the sheer boredom of every single day of their priveleged lives.

Self-Actualization Needs-  Pay others to do all their home work so they can go to college, get their MBA, step right in to a cushy job in the family business, run it in to the ground, squander the family fortune (so the next generation has to actually work for a living), inevitably deciding to commit suicide so they never know what it's like to be "poor"- while leaving behind a wife and kids who will be just that.

Do I have to spell it out for you?

Spoiling your kids does them more harm than good. It's an easy way out of having to actually parent your kids. It's a conscious choice that you have the power to correct before the problem gets out of hand. Stop controlling your kids with money and let them learn how to lead their own lives.

End of rant.

Now, please enjoy this educational video:

 Original Version (Pulp, Different Class, 1995)

Related Links:

• http://www.theentitlementtrap.com/Entitlement_Trap/Home.html
• http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/are-your-children-spoiled
• http://www.peterhaiman.com/pdfs/articles/spoiling-infants-and-toddlers-the-myth-that-can-effect-a-lifetime.pdf
• http://www.happiestbaby.com/10-ways-to-raise-a-spoiled-child/
• http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/94