The problem starts with the first sentence of the article: "Parents want to be able to give our children everything they want and need." Need? Yes. Of course. From food and shelter to education and moral values. But want??!!?! And ya wonder about spoiled brats? This isn't a holiday phenomenon. 24/7/365. A child's "wants" shift with the wind. It's the parents' chore to use sound judgment in granting the little friggin' angel's specific wishes that will contribute to their growth and maturity......

with everything being so expensive these days,its easy to overspend on gifts. and kids nowadays want everything, ipods,ipads,x-box, the latest and greatest cellphones ect. back when i was a child you didnt grumble if you received clothes as a gift, kids would think of it as an insult now, just sayin!

My kids certainly are not lacking for anything, but they do not have everything they want either. There has to be a balance. My kids are 13 and know that there are kids less fortunate than us. My son, gave his allowance he had saved to the school food drive fund. He did not even tell me he was going to do this. It was all on his own. I think kids can have things and be "spoiled" without being ruined. We teach our kids manners and values. Family is what is most important.

Parents have been buying their kids extravagant gifts since the dawn of time. If a few gifts [even an iPad for a three year old] is all it takes to create a spoiled, entitled brat, then its up to the parents to reevaluate their parenting techniques.

When adults can't delay gratification how do you expect them to teach their children they cannot have everything they want right away. Parents need to learn to say "no" and when the tantrum starts, ignore the whining and crying. The child will get the idea the whining and crying won't get them anywhere!

Maybe THIS is what caused Sarah Palin to turn out the way she did.

You act surprised. Look who raised them - the ME generation.

Christmas celebration is just once a year. Give the kids a break. Spoil them if parents can do or they may loss the special time to spoil their kids.

Remember that making the home is home sweet home then whenever there is problems outside the home the kids are always coming back home.

My parents have 6 grandchildren. They were strict with the first 5, but spoiled the last one rotten and I do mean rotten. Before he was 3, he had a fleet of battery-operated cars to drive. He had every toy, and my dad even bought illegal fireworks to entertain him and his friends every year. He had full access to the stock-car repair shop and his own go-kart with a custom cowl, professionally painted with name and number to match his custom helmet. When he was 4, he drove the lawn tractor through the garage wall and later killed the dog by hanging him up with the engine winch. Now, at 18, he's addicted to Oxycontin and has stolen an estimated $40,000.00 from my parents, yet still comes over every day, ostensibly to work off what he owes. The police know about it now, because the bank called them. But my parents aren't co-operating, so he will probably walk free. He has bled them completely dry and they're still giving him more as a reward for asking instead of stealing. The worst is that he has exposed them to his thuggish friends who are now also stealing from my parents. I live in fear that the friends are going to do something violent in the course of a robbery soon. We're powerless to help. I want the police to hurry and get the whole gang of them into jail!

Children turning into spoiled brats? Surely you jest. Don't blame the kids. Kids are the offspring of adults, not the other way around. The Bible teaches an unforgettable lesson apropos to the rearing of children by simply stating, 'raise a child in the way it should go and when it is old it will not depart from it'. Spare the rod, spoil the child. Thank God my God fearing parents never, ever thought of such a dastarderly practice at the so-called Christmas time of the year or any other day.

Parents want to be friends with their kids today, not parents. It's ridiculous, because we have a generation of 20-somethings who think that the world owes them a living (see "Occupy" movement). My kids never got an allowance - we couldn't afford it. If they wanted something bad enough, they had to work for it, and work hard. They worked at our church's food closet during the holidays and the summer. They got clothes that were hand-me-downs or from KMart or Wal-Mart. Once they got jobs, they could buy what they wanted, as long as they put some away in savings and had enough to pay their bills. Credit cards were for emergencies, not IPads or designer clothes.

I am amazed that parents today buy their 13 year olds I-Phones (They cost at least $199!!!) and I-Pods (another $150). My son is 20 and he has a generic MP3 player that works just fine. Kids want and need boundaries. It's a shame when kids in their 20's come up to me and say they wish that they had been spanked or had a curfew when they were younger because it would have proved that their parents truly loved them. You can't buy your children's love and affection!

I agree that children are not ever to blame, as long as they are living with their parents. Now, when those spoiled children grow up to be spoiled adults, then that's a different story. My sister and I are two very different people, raised by the same parents and each spoiled in her own right. My sister (age 31) still feels she DESERVES a gift (when I told her that, because of being off for two months due to surgery, she most likely would get her gift *after* Christmas, she said "it had better be a good one" and "make sure you don't forget."). She feels that if she gives a gift, she is owed a gift. I have two daughters and, sadly, I use my adult sister as an example of how they are to NEVER behave. Regardless of how terrible or thoughtless a gift might seem, it is still a GIFT. Something that a person WANTED to give to you, not something you are owed or even that you think you might deserve. It is something that doesn't necessarily have to be reciprocated, and that you should give to others because you want to give, not because you want something in return. My daughters are very well behaved (attitudes at 11 & 9? never even had a glimpse of one from my girls), well mannered (they know that "please," "thank you," "yes ma'am," and "no sir" are absolutely mandatory), and most importantly, THANKFUL.

Everytime I read one of these "parenting" articles I can't help but read the comments. They are almost always split between people who blame every single problem since the beginning of time on the parents of the world and the parents who agree with them and then promptly state how perfect their own kids are as compared to everyone elses kids. Every time I a read a comment about how perfect a person thinks their kids are, my bull$hit detector goes right off! I have worked with the public for the better part of 25 years. I know people pretty well, and I have met COUNTLESS numbers of parents that THINK their kids are perfect but, I have never met a perfect kid(including the 2 of my own). Infact, in my experience, the parents who think their kids are so perfect usually have some of the worst brats, and in fact are completely oblivious to their childs true nature. They develop this unrealistic ideal of who their kid is and the kid learns to keep up the act when mon&dad are watching and then they think they can do whatever they want when their back is turned and mom will never believe the "lies" about her little angel. Personally, I would love to see parents see their kids for who and what they are and most of all I really wish all the bitter single people who have no kids and the elderly whos kids have long grown and moved away would, shut up and mind their own damn business. If you don't have children at home, then your opinions on parenting are worth exactly ZERO! You may be entitled to you opinions and you may have the right to voice them but, they are basically inconsequential as you have nothing to do with the conversation.

we are doomed these spoiled rotten kids are going to be running our country you think Spoiled Rotten politicians are bad, just think about this generation coming up....you have poor and rich thinking they are entitlted to things they do not work for...gambling is not working either

When he was 4, he drove the lawn tractor through the garage wall and later killed the dog by hanging him up with the engine winch.

He was more than a "spoiled kid" He was a budding sociopath.

Those thugs should be shot and killed.

It is not too late to alter society and make those vile spawn economic assets instead of economic liabilities of little to no to anyone or any thing; families, parents and societies but, perhaps most importantly, to the vile spawn themselves.

Out with those intrusive "child labor" laws and statutes.

Return the fruit of thine loins to the farms, factories and fields.

So MANY advantages and, I predict, the oft-noted child abuse crimes will greatly diminish parents, guardians, etc. realize that those laboring children create more wealth than they consume.

And the children will experience a sense of self-worth and enter the adult world with at least some skills.

Sure, require those utilizing child labor or for parents/guardians on THEIR time or BOTH to instruct the little heathens the basic reading, writing and ciphering skills but those an be done in a rather short time period and NOT require the BLOATED bureaucracies and multi-billion dollar costs We, the People are FORCED TO PAY... even the HUGE portion of expenses that have nothing to do with the actual educating of children.

What an immense SCAM foisted upon We, the People by an entrenched bureaucracy!!!!!

End the madness.

Free the taxpayer from the ENORMOUS expense.

Let those spitting out the offspring pay the costs.

You also have to consider the nature of many families today. Single parents, separated or divorced couples all have additional issues related to gift giving. Even stable couples have to juggle multiple Christmas' , going from one set of grand parents to the next. Often times children have three or more christmas' due to extended families. We are doing our best to get our children to stop asking for more presents the next day or two afterward. Sometimes we have many days of Christmas, some years only one, thankfully. It's really about how the parents address it. It is family so you make it work.

I was raised in a home where if you did something wrong it was a spanking, a grounding, taking things away and etc and it worked. When I had children of my own I raised them the same way until you couldn't spank or even smack their hands or butt with out getting in trouble. My 2 oldest show respect and the youngest well not so much even though he is doing well enough, at least he has a job. I found out the hard way that it is not allowed to punish your child the way I was. We had just moved to a new city for my husbands job and where at the store. My youngest kept putting candy in the cart and kept saying no and putting back on the self, the third time I said no and smacked his hand and continued with my shopping. I checked out and was going to my car, well the local police and child welfare where waiting for me and my children and they where going to arrest me for child abuse, you got it someone from the store called them. I had to go through a year of hell with home visits and school visits to make sure I was not beating my children. Today in stores you see children throwing fits, hitting their parent and just being out of control, yes spoiled brats, just because they didn't get what they want.

Yes there are bad parents but not all parents are bad and it takes common sense to know when enough is enough but in today's world these children know they can get what the want and how to do it. We have created this by letting society getting out of hand. Yes there are parents that go to far and they should not be parents but how do you who should be parents and who should not be parents, that is not our choice, we need to see these signs and than take action. I don't the answers but I don't know that children today think they are owed everything and anything.

Growing up during hard times we were lucky to get new clothes for Christmas and birthdays and maybe if we were really lucky we got a toy from my parents. Note the singular. Yes, our grandparents sent us a toy but mostly we received clothes. Every year we surrendered any toys we did not play with to give to the poorer children in our area. We also gave the clothes that no longer fit us to the poorer families.

However, we did not follow that with our own children. We made the mistake of giving them what we did not have when we were growing up so we gave too much too often, not everything mind you, but still too much. And for that we are not thanked. There is no gratitude or appreciation for what we did. And, yes, that is our fault. We thought we were instilling the right values, but apparently we didn't do a good enough job.

But what we see today is utterly appalling. We witness children demanding, not asking, for things. Children throwing "tantrums" if they don't get what they want. I have witnessed a child toss a toy aside like garbage and sulk because he didn't get exactly what he wanted.

We have witnessed middle class and even some poor parents over the years caving into their children's demands.

We have witnessed parents of wealth over the years giving their children everything and anything they want.

And we see the results of this indulgence.

Adult children who have no respect or regard for their parents.

The grandchildren behave even worse.

What do we think of our children and grandchildren? Despite our best efforts, we made similar mistakes. The children didn't get everything they wanted, but they got too much. Now, they are too busy with their own separate lives to care about their own siblings. Their children are selfish, self-indulgent, and demanding with an attitude of "it's owed to me" not that we have to work for it.

Sad, isn't it?

I remember when I was young how parents talked about what their children did for them; now all I hear is what they have to do for their children -- even their adult children.

We have raised too many narcissistic children who have become narcissistic adults.

Not that I would wish this on anyone, I just wonder sometimes how these adults and their children would handle a Great Depression. I see some younger people handling these hard times remarkably well. But, still, it's sad.

We have become a nation of consumers who don't realize that our pursuit of consumption is consuming our lives and killing us....

Children require time and attention far more than they require things. We have a generation of parents trying to substitute things instead. Some of the problem is legitimate, single moms and two income families where finding time with the kids is hard. Some of it is laziness, far easier to buy your kid another new thing, ease your conscience by spending more money on them, than put in the effort when you are tired and overworked yourself.

Every generation firmly believes that the next generation has it the easiest and is the most spoiled and entitled in human history. Same as it ever was.

Kids now ARE spoiled brats(most, not all). School is tailored to suit them, parents don't get involved with 'em, except to buy over rated electronics which the kids use and it furthers them from human contact and real life experiences. It's now like a major crime if you spank your kid, or if the school has to, so they think they can just do whatever and their are no consequences for anything. Go ahead, buy the lil brats some new video game, or a cell phone(like they really NEED either one.) You're just adding to the problem

Unfortunately, it's very true that if you ask kids what the real meaning of Christmas is most of them will say "Presents!"

What is perhaps the most disturbing is that so many adults rate their own parenting skills based on how well they are able to spoil their children. I've been told many times that I'm a bad parent because I've never purchased the "right" toys or clothes for them. To me a closet full of clothes with big name logos splashed across them is not proof of good parenting. I've raised my kids to cut back on the expensive clothes and save up to buy special things they really want. The appreciate items they save up to buy themselves and tend to take better care of those things.

It appears that I am the luckiest person on the planet from the looks of this article and responses....We were taught that you are lucky if you got anything and were gracious enough to thank whoever gave us gifts for Christmas....without being told to thank the giver! What happened to that...chucked out the window by the sound of things in this article. I still hold that as true today as ever. There are no more grateful children...only greedy little gift mongers that feel entitled. My parents would have taken a few layers of skin off my behind if I acted like these children. Yes, I know.....that's considered abuse...well, so is a tantrum that ends with parents being verbally and physically abused by a 5 year old. Get real, get tough, and don't take back talk from your kids. Who's the parent anyway!!!