Entitlement Out of Control?

I wonder sometimes if we’ve taken this whole childhood thing too far. A hundred years ago, the concept of childhood didn’t even exist the way we know it today. Children were not particularly celebrated for being in their wonder years. There was no magic about being a child. They climbed out of bed in the darkness, milked the cows, fed the chickens, then worked all day in the fields -- just like the adults.
There were no movies just for children, no cartoon networks. There was no music made for them; no specialized fashion; no amusement parks. They were not considered a gold mine in marketing. Today, childhood is a multi-billion-dollar industry and we parents are paying through the nose to propagate it.
When we were kids, my parents didn’t spend every waking moment trying to entertain us. We got up and went outside and were gone all day. Our folks didn’t try to keep us perpetually happy.
Nowadays, it seems the inmates are running the asylum. We parents spend every free moment and last dollar keeping our kids entertained. We don’t want to tell our kids no because that might hurt their self-esteem, and we don’t want to let them down because we want to encourage them to succeed.
This has caused a sense of entitlement that is spinning out of control. My cousin bought a new boat and we all got to ride. It didn’t even occur to me to want to operate it, I just wanted to ride in it. But he patiently stood by as each one of the neophyte captains steered the craft. It wasn’t enough for them to go out in the boat, they all wanted to drive it. My folks bought a two-person land roving vehicle. I would have been happy with a free ride when I was a kid, but today’s kids fight over who gets to drive it next. I finished mowing the lawn just before I wrote this. I really needed some help raking the grass, but the kids wanted to drive the mower instead.
Children today go from their own television channels, to video games, to their own web sites, to their own cell phones. Is this bad? Not necessarily, but my concern is that they are going to take this culture of entitlement right through their lives. We had to wait until Christmas or a birthday for a gift, but it’s always Christmas for kids these days. We had to wait until we got married before we went on some exotic honeymoon to paradise. Now, young people pack up and take off without benefit of clergy. Then, they just keep upping the ante, trying to be entitled and entertained every waking moment. Careful, or it will be candy and soft drinks today, then drugs and diabetes tomorrow.
At some point, kids have to learn that the best life is one that is under control. It has limits. The best life is not spoiled, but thankful. It appreciates the rewards of a job well done.
I know a lot of this problem comes from our desire to keep our children happy. We want them to have more than we did -- to be better off than we were. I understand this and want my kids to be just as happy as anyone, but sometimes I wonder if the pendulum doesn’t need to swing back a little. I wonder if we’re not hurting them in the long run by celebrating them in excess now.
Tomorrow, there’s some grass that needs raking and I know just the right youngsters to do it.