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

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.

Michael G. Wetter, PsyD, and Eileen Bailey are award winning team that also wrote 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.