Parents who say no to their children’s wants are good parents. It is not bad when you cannot afford to give your children everything they desire.
Giving in to your children’s whims is a recipe for disaster. But when you say no to some of the luxuries they crave, you are teaching them a good life lesson.
You are not a bad parent if you refuse to give your 20 year old son the keys to your SUV. It is your prerogative to share your car or not.
Maybe you want him to drive the Yaris and he is embarrassed by that because all his friends drive their father’s Land Rover.
That’s up to him to work on his self confidence. And it’s up to you to teach him how not to be defined by material things.
You are not a bad parent if you can afford first class for your 19 year old child but refuse to spend money that way.
Do not feel guilty if the child flies economy class. People who fly economy are not inferior beings.
You have a right to deny your child that luxury, while you go on with your 53 year old bad self and enjoy first class. You deserve it. You have worked hard for it.
Don’t feel bad. Your child can make that his own reality when he starts making money. The earlier the better; no squatting in daddy’s house at 32.
You are not a bad parent if your 11-year- old doesn’t use a smart phone. These kids have access to social media. Social media does not empower children.
Sometimes, buying children a smart phone is a distraction and an addiction they can do without.
If it is to access Google for homework, then let them have a spare phone at home for that. You can block major social media apps.
Saying no to your children’s demands doesn’t mean you don’t love them, it means you love them enough to teach them through your actions that life is not always a bed of roses.
