[Quincy]

A topic that has been sitting in my mind lately, I was wondering what this community thinks about them. I've had the immeasurable misfortune of working with one, as of late. This perosn is the type that believes he is only supposed to do a small share of the work, whatever he pleases and has no pride in his work. He takes it all for granted while millions out there are praying to find a job. After a few weeks of trying to reason with this individual, I ended up having to resorting to putting the fear of Q in him.

Now I never touched the man and I barely said 3 words to him when I did what I did. It's all in the eyes, if you know what I mean. Now the dude is listening to me and is working the hardest I've ever seen him work. He even seems to be getting to understand how putting in a good days work is something to be proud of. Anyways, this all got me to dwelling on the topic and wondering just what the heck breeds these entitlement twits who think the whole world adores them and life is cuddly teddy bears and wots of wuve. I seriously believe this guy thought the world was nothing but this state inside an episode of Spongebob guest starring Piglet the featherly hug monster and a mom who pays his bills. Gah, I better stop I'm getting all rant-ish which just turns into a comic discourse and some folks have blessed lives with people who care for them, or have disabilities and are far from spoiled. Anyways,


What do you believe creates spoiled brats? Is it as simple as parenting or something more complicated?

Do you know or have you known any?

For everyone: How do you deal with them?

For theists: What do you believe is the correct way to deal with them in God's eyes?

[Inzl Kett]

Spoiled brats? Have them go out and get a job! Make them work. Spoiled brats tend to be lazy and think they are privileged. Once they start working and putting out then reward them. I raised a kid. It worked for him.

[Quincy]

Well, I think that certainly works for some of them .

This guy had a job though and he conducted himself in a spoiled manner at the job. Now, maybe he is lucky he came across me or maybe not , but I don't think anyone else would be the type to say anything to him. Someone this spoiled would end up getting fired repeatedly before it dawned on them they're an idiot. In this newer generation there are so many extremely spoiled kids it ridiculous. Makes me wonder just what do you do to combat it.

[Buzzword]

It's a combination of parenting, cultural exposure, and personality type.

Negative effects from any one of the three could conceivably overcome the positive effects from the other two.

Parenting:
-giving special treatment to one sibling over another
-not following up on threats of punishment (especially "If you do that one more time we are LEAVING!" and then not leaving because the parent feels that their fun time is worth more than demonstrating that actions have consequences)
-becoming addicted to "gadget fever," and bringing the kid along for the ride

Cultural:
-Supermodel gets paid a hundred times more than a teacher. Society teaches that it's possible (and desirable) to be financially successful without ever having to lift a finger for another person.
-Wants = needs, especially gadgets, Internet access, premium TV channel packages, etc.

Many employers don't help these issues, especially those who don't provide any incentive to go the extra mile.
Lazy Employee A gets paid the exact same as Productive Employee B, so (logically) why should Lazy Employee A do anything BUT the minimum?

[rocketman]

Sadly it seems America has bred an entire society of those who feel that life, the country, friends, or family owe them something. It is rather frustrating for those of us who believe in the rewards of self achievement. It all comes down to laziness really.

[MrDeets]

I think its partially a parenting issue, but at some point, we all chose who we want to be.

I work on drilling rigs, and have for the past 7 years. I take a lot of pride in my work, and tend to do above and beyond what I am supposed to, I also tend to work way more hours than required. 85% of the rest of the oilfield under the age of 40 is as you describe- here for a paycheck. That tells me it is somewhat generational. Anywhoo- I tend to deal with it firstly by leading by example. I work the way I want others to work. If that doesn't do it, I will kindly-ish suggest that they pick up the pace/ pay attention, etc. Lastly, I go ahead and put the fear of J in them(thanks, Q!!). In my position, I can't always run someone off(oilfield term for fire), but I can seriously put a damper on their likelyhood of continued emploment.

On the rig I have been following for the last 6 months, the hands know who I am, and where I stand with Christ Jesus, so automatically I am am more bit separate from them than my partner. By working the way I do, and treating them firmly, but with love, I feel like I have gained their respect. So now, when I am on the rig floor, and start working(which many in my position do not, because we aren't technically supposed to), the hands tend to get real busy, real quick.

I am trying very hard to teach my sons a great respect for hard work(physically or otherwise), and those that do it. I teach them that I am privelidged to be employed doing something I love, making sufficient income. I will expect my sons to work around the house for cash if they want to have any, they will also have non-payed responsibilites that are part of being a Deets living under my roof. That's how it was when I was growing up, and I place great value on work ethic and attitude.

I feel that most times, I am treating people out here as I should, and I know I am raising my sons in the way they should go. My wife and I constantly discuss how to prevent our children from being spoiled, and how to teach them that they choose their attitude.

[chrysostom]

the child needs to spend a lot of time with the mother
and
I have heard it said that you can always spot the day care child

[Lighthouse]

It seems, to me, to stem from many things, but in what I have seen with my own eyes the jobs themselves are largely to blame; and the government who forces the companies to do certain things:

Minimum wage is a primary problem. People are being paid the same as everyone else based on the hours they are there, not the amount of work they do. Therefore there is no motivation to do more work, or work harder. And even in the event of raises they are too few and far between; and even after someone gets a raise they are still only paid for the amount of hours they are there. An honest day's work no longer receives an honest day's pay.

And to further the problem companies are forced to raise the prices on their commodities to meet the requirements of minimum wage, thereby reducing their output. This makes for high turnover and companies are forced to hire anyone willing to do the job for the pay. And anyone who is worth their salt loses as the companies cannot afford to pay them what they are worth because they are forced to pay a certain amount to those who are on the bottom.

In turn even people who come in determined to work hard and be proud of what they do are discouraged by what they see around them: laziness. The laziest are paid on the same basis as the most diligent and the diligent lose heart.

I'll use myself as an example. I may not be the fastest, and I may rest when I have the opportunity, but when I am working I do my job right and I follow the rules. When I began my current job I was always reminding people what the rules were, not because I wanted to be a jerk but because I didn't want them to get in trouble. Many of them disliked it, but my boss was encouraged by my attitude. I even told someone once that if they didn't want me to correct them then they should follow procedure properly and I wouldn't have cause to correct them. My boss said I was right. But lately I've taken to keeping my mouth shut, not because people were annoyed, but because they don't listen; they keep doing the wrong thing and nothing changes. I've given up. And I've even come to the point where I don't do some of the things I used to because it doesn't make a difference if I'm the only one who does it.