The millennial generation is among the hardest for parents to raise. Thanks to smartphones and social media, our children are used to instant gratification; they then expect this from every aspect of their lives. They presume that good grades and a job should simply fall into their lap. As a parent, this is infuriating because you want your child to succeed in life and that can only be accomplished after they’ve learned the importance of respect, long term hard work, and humility.
Respect
The best way to teach our children respect is by modeling it in our home. This is accomplished in two ways: By setting clearly defined boundaries with reasonable rewards and consequences. A reward and consequence system teaches our children that when they are true to their word, and do as they are asked that we as parents will follow through on our end as well. The other way this is taught is by example. As their parents show respect to their children, to their relatives, to members of their community, then children will see a clear expectation for how humans should interact with one another. If children are raised in a home where parents argue, where they lie to get out of tricky situations, or if they’re rude and inconsiderate to their neighbors or coworkers, this will be the lesson they learn.
Long Term Hard Work
Often times we see millennials working at dead end jobs are they’re disappointed in their pay – requesting unreasonable wages for simple jobs or expecting outrages spending allowances on meager budgets. Along with the mindset of instant gratification, millennials appear to struggle with entitlement. They see people living lifestyles of the rich and famous and want that for themselves but do they understand the reality of these situations? Do they understand the hard work and time it takes to have the financial freedoms their parents have worked so hard for?
As parents, we’ve worked tirelessly for years gaining promotions, paying off debts, and building up our savings thanks to a settlement I was able to do looking at https://www.debtconsolidation.com/debt-settlement/. Our children didn’t get to see the parts of our lives where we struggled to get through college, to makes ends meet, or to even put food on the table at times. And with this, they don’t realize that they themselves will have to go through that trying phase of life as they figure out adulthood and budgeting before they have the ability to make big purchases without consequence.
We can solve this problem by starting while they’re young to teach them that their rewards are only worth their efforts. Instead of handing them every little thing, teach them to obtain things on their own. Teach them to work, to save, and to buy their own cellphone. Allow them the opportunity to pay their tiny cellphone bill on their own. The more they can learn within the comfort of your own home, the more prepared they will be to put (and keep) a roof over their own heads and food on their own tables.
Humility
As kids are growing and learning to work hard, it’s fun and exciting to see the rewards of their efforts. But what happens when their efforts fail or when their goals aren’t reached? Often times and even as adults, we may want to give up. Why work so hard for so little!? By teaching our children the important lessons we learn through failure, they can experience humility. This humility will encourage them to press forward and to try again. This humility will teach them empathy when they see others struggle.
Humility, working hard for more than just short-term gratification, and respect for others – no matter what career path they choose – are key elements that will create successful children. But with a world so focused on instant gratification and short cuts, it is our job as parents to provide every opportunity available to teach are children to hunker down and give it their all.