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Being kind to others, giving them a helping hand, sharing your things with those who might be down on their luck—all of these are very admirable qualities. Human beings are hardwired for being social and our brains reward us for our altruism. However, there’s always a chance that someone will try to take advantage of your kindness.
Case in point, a redditor shared a bit of drama that recently happened at the pool. They told the r/entitledparents subreddit how some mom yelled at their kids to share their toys with her own child… something that they’d previously been doing anyway.
Disliking the entire situation and wanting to shut down this behavior, the redditor took matters into their own hands and gave the entitled mom a taste of her own medicine. Oh, did she find it bitter! Scroll down to read the full story in the OP’s own words, as well as how the internet reacted. Once you’re done, tell us what you would have done, Pandas.
Parenting blogger Samantha Scroggin, the mastermind behind the witty ‘Walking Outside in Slippers’ blog, kindly shared her thoughts about generosity, sharing, and entitlement with Bored Panda. Scroll down to see what she told us.
Image credits: wanderland.xyz (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Armin Rimoldi (not the actual photo)
“I find teaching my kids to share is most effective when they experience the rewards of sharing. For example, when another child is so happy to play with a toy that belongs to my kid,” mom and blogger Samantha told Bored Panda.
“My kids are not so enamored with sharing that I worry about them being taken advantage of. They have plenty, and can certainly share. If I thought my kids were being taken advantage of, I would step in and tell my kids it’s ok for them to say no to sharing anymore in that moment.”
She added: “And of course, some belongings are personal and shouldn’t be shared. Like diaries, fragile items, and keepsakes.”
Samantha said that it’s important for parents to be aware of their privilege, as well as help their own children understand their own inherited privilege, too.
“I want my kids to work for what they are given, like allowance. I stress the value of hard work and the benefits of generosity.”
Learning to share and being generous with your time, energy, attention, and resources, is generally a good way to go through life. And in an ideal world, there would be no need to even consider that someone might take advantage of you. However, we don’t live in an ideal world.
As the redditor’s story showed us, there are some extremely entitled people out there who demand that you share what you have with them. And yet, they’re unwilling to do the same. They go on to teach their kids that they can get anything they want by virtue of just existing. They don’t even have to put in any effort. Or be polite.
That’s the kind of thinking that the OP tried to shut down by taking the entitled mom’s book: she was acting hypocritical because she didn’t apply her own values to herself. Obviously, taking some stranger’s book is a bit unexpected, but it might have been necessary to set some boundaries and put an end to this nonsense. After all, nobody enjoys seeing their kids being berated. Especially if they did nothing wrong.
Though we’re optimistic about the fact that people can and do change, whatever their age, the fact remains that it’s easier to create good values and habits early on in life. What this means is that how parents raise their kids matters. A lot! The way to deal with potential entitlement is to nip it in the bud. Teach your children to be charitable instead of just expecting special treatment wherever they go.
Though everyone sometimes feels like they deserve to be treated special, things break down when you completely ignore this need in others. Everyone deserves to be treated with equal respect. When you demand special privileges, you may end up losing friends who no longer find your company fun.
That’s why it’s so important for parents to instill habits like humility and valuing others while their kids are still small. Otherwise, they might soon find that nobody wants to share their toys with their children no matter where they go—whether it’s the local pool or the neighborhood playground.
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Jonas is a Bored Panda writer who previously worked as a world news journalist elsewhere. After getting his bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations at the University of Manchester, he returned home and graduated from Vilnius University with a master's degree in Comparative Politics. Jonas enjoys writing articles ranging from serious topics like politics and social issues to more lighthearted things like art, pop culture, and nature. In his spare time, Jonas writes books and short stories and likes to draw lighthearted illustrations. A huge fan of literature, films, philosophy, and tabletop games, he also has a special place in his heart for anything related to fantasy or science fiction.
Austėja is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Photography. They have a diverse set of creative skills and a wide portfolio which ranges from photography to digital editing and traditional art. After graduating from Nottingham Trent University in 2018 they have worked as a freelance photographer until Bored Panda. When not editing, they enjoy biking, taking too many pictures of their dog and drawing.
People in the comments are confusing sharing with taking turns using something. They’re not the same. Taking turns has to do with something that is meant for everyone to use—-and often bought for the public or the group (like laptops for kids in a school)—-but not all at the same time. Sharing has to do with ASKING someone if you could use something that belongs to them exclusively. You. Always. Ask. First. Then, if they say OK, take better care of it than you would if it was yours, and always—-promptly!—-return it in the same, or better, condition than when you got it. If it does break, whether by you mishandling it or it was just worn out when you got it, you then better have it repaired, or you pay to replace it, without having to be asked first.
Yep. Sharing is not about turns, but about boundaries. I *may* share, but I do not have to, and it doesn't matter, if I use it right now, or not. It's mine, i set the rules. And if I don't want to share it with you, tough luck.
You nailed it. And kids need to be taught that they are entitled to their own property but generosity is a good thing. But they are not a bad kid if they choose not to give up what's theirs
I was confused as well on that note. I am a headstart teacher. We reached the kids to share be patient with the toys in our classroom. But if a student brings their favorite toy in with them, we do not tell that child they have to share it. Kids would say Ms. Rasheeda "Billy won't share his car" as an example. We have to say okay that is his toy from home. He does not have to share that. We do try to encourage the kids to leave their toys at home, or in parents car or put it in their bookbags until school is out. But we do get a few.
I encourage my son to share, if he's meeting friends in the playground he specifically picks toys that they can all play with, or all of them have one. We've had strangers (kids) join in. But I draw the line at his favourite toy, I have said to his friends and strangers to please not play with a toy if it's my son's favourite (mostly his comfort teddy). I'm trying to teach my child to share but as someone else mentioned, there are boundaries - he does not have to share everything. Likewise, he's learnt that sometimes his friends have a toy that is only theirs to play with. This woman sounds like a pain in the a**e.
Taking the book was a classic move
People in the comments are confusing sharing with taking turns using something. They’re not the same. Taking turns has to do with something that is meant for everyone to use—-and often bought for the public or the group (like laptops for kids in a school)—-but not all at the same time. Sharing has to do with ASKING someone if you could use something that belongs to them exclusively. You. Always. Ask. First. Then, if they say OK, take better care of it than you would if it was yours, and always—-promptly!—-return it in the same, or better, condition than when you got it. If it does break, whether by you mishandling it or it was just worn out when you got it, you then better have it repaired, or you pay to replace it, without having to be asked first.
Yep. Sharing is not about turns, but about boundaries. I *may* share, but I do not have to, and it doesn't matter, if I use it right now, or not. It's mine, i set the rules. And if I don't want to share it with you, tough luck.
You nailed it. And kids need to be taught that they are entitled to their own property but generosity is a good thing. But they are not a bad kid if they choose not to give up what's theirs
I was confused as well on that note. I am a headstart teacher. We reached the kids to share be patient with the toys in our classroom. But if a student brings their favorite toy in with them, we do not tell that child they have to share it. Kids would say Ms. Rasheeda "Billy won't share his car" as an example. We have to say okay that is his toy from home. He does not have to share that. We do try to encourage the kids to leave their toys at home, or in parents car or put it in their bookbags until school is out. But we do get a few.
I encourage my son to share, if he's meeting friends in the playground he specifically picks toys that they can all play with, or all of them have one. We've had strangers (kids) join in. But I draw the line at his favourite toy, I have said to his friends and strangers to please not play with a toy if it's my son's favourite (mostly his comfort teddy). I'm trying to teach my child to share but as someone else mentioned, there are boundaries - he does not have to share everything. Likewise, he's learnt that sometimes his friends have a toy that is only theirs to play with. This woman sounds like a pain in the a**e.
Taking the book was a classic move
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