I know typically in films and books, spoilt children are usually rich and given everything they want despite behaving badly.
But in real life I see very different types of children. Some are rich, some aren’t well off, but some children in every demographic have a real sense of entitlement and perceived injustice.
I was thinking about a friend whose child will demand anything that anyone else has, even if they don’t want it. So if one child has been bought a cake and they had the option to have a cake or an ice cream, they will eat their cake and moan to have an ice cream. Or children that repeatedly cry when other children open their presents at party’s.
I see the parents often have good approaches to this behaviour and explain/ validate/ reassure but it doesn’t really seem to help. I wonder how deep rooted this feeling of envy and unhappiness is, and whether it ever has positive results such as in terms of ambition or social injustice.
My children are by no means perfect but I don’t see this trait in them, yet I think they’re quite lucky, in terms of ‘stuff’. So is it that spoilt children feel hard done by, either in terms of affection, attention, presents or is it just personality? I tend to feel it’s the latter as I know children who are very well off and some who have very little and there are children like this in both camps. I always feel for them, no one wants to be unhappy with their lot.