Special Treatment Damages Your Kid's Future

Does your kid think they’re better than everyone else? Scott Donnell and Chad Willardson discuss how thinking your kids deserve special treatment damages their future. They also reveal a better way to motivate your kids and make them feel proud of their accomplishments. Chad and Scott agree that the best parents tell their kids, “you’re special to me.” Not, “you deserve special treatment.” According to Chad, telling your kids they deserve special treatment makes them walk around with a chip on their shoulder. Scott’s definition of humility - a clear self-estimation of who you are in the world. For Scott, true self-esteem is built by letting your kids know that they are special to you. Not telling them that they deserve special treatment. Although you’d want to love your kids as much as possible, you must also give them an accurate view of their place in the world. Chad talks about the unfortunate reality of modern parenting. Telling your kids that they’re superior doesn’t build self-esteem; it breeds narcissism. Scott and Chad agree that if you teach your kids to believe they are superior to everyone else and they deserve special treatment, you’re setting them up for failure later in life. Chad’s golden rule of parenting - praise and reward effort, not outcomes. Your kids cannot control the outcome. But they can control their effort and their attitude. Scott goes over the long-term consequences of parents doing everything for their kids. For Chad, doing everything for a child might initially sound harmless, but parents must also consider the long-term consequences of raising their kids in a bubble. Chad and Scott discuss the foundational elements of a smart money parent. Scott covers ways parents can teach their kids how to create value in the real world. Scott talks about the confidence and capability matrix - and why it’s so important for kids to start building concrete capabilities. Chad and Scott agree that it’s cheaper and safer for your kids to fail at home than in the real world. Scott shares a crazy hiring story where a parent accompanied their child to a job interview. According to Chad, failure in kids is okay - kids need to experience and overcome failure if they are to succeed in the real world. What to do the next time you find yourself trying to get special treatment for your kids. Scott and Chad discuss the detrimental consequences of entitled parents trying to get their kids special treatment.     Mentioned in This Episode: gravystack.com/smart gravystack.com/igniter smartmoneyparenting.com smartmoneyparenting.com/followus Smart, Not Spoiled: The 7 Money Skills Kids Must Master Before Leaving the Nest by Chad Willardson Value Creation Kid: The Healthy Struggles Your Children Need to Succeed by Scott Donnell and Lee Benson Scott Donnell on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/donnell-scott Chad Willardson on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/chadwillardson Scott Donnell on Instagram - @imscottdonnell Chad Willardson on Instagram - @chad.willardson Scott Donnell on TikTok - @imscottdonnell