Rich child's syndrome: does your child have it?

The rich child's syndrome. Today's parents do not have an easy life. The most difficult thing is to spend so many hours at work and have less time spent with children.

As a result, children may experience a sense of emptiness, which is sometimes compensated in the wrong way. This is how the rich child syndrome is created.

This syndrome affects not only those who grow up in a wealthy family. It applies to both rich children and those from the middle class. A "rich child" creates certain characteristics of his parents, and not a socio-economic situation.

"Do not teach your children how to get rich, teach them to be happy, to know the value of things, not their price."

A rich child's syndrome means a spoiled child. It is the result of raising a child surrounded by too many things. So it is not a syndrome associated with the social class, but rather how parents raise a child and what kind of relationship they have with it.

• What is the syndrome of a rich child?
  Rich child syndrome is defined as a set of disorders that occur in children who have everything in excess. Perhaps "everything" is not exactly the right word ... rather they have "everything" for what they ask for.

In addition to getting what they want, children with this syndrome also receive from their parents other things, such as: privileges, access to additional educational services, etc.

The point is that the behavior of parents is important. Regardless of whether they are over-protective or give their children too much material things, their actions affect the emotional development of their child.

Ralph Minear, professor of pediatrics at Harvard University, proposes a series of questions to assess whether the child is brought up in a way that carries the risk of a rich child syndrome.

• Do you often buy expensive gifts for your child, even if there is no special occasion?
• Are household expenses intended for the satisfaction of children's whims?
• Can a child watch TV for more than two hours a day?
• Did you sign them up for extra-curricular activities without asking for it?
• Do you reward your child with money or presents when doing a good deed?
• Does the child often complain about boredom? He does not know how to play, even in a room full of toys?
  If any of these questions answer "yes", the child can develop the syndrome of a rich child. This results in most cases from the fact that parents do not have enough time to spend it with their children.

Parents try to compensate for this, giving their children too much freedom, making the rules more flexible and offering toys, extra activities and money as soon as the child asks for it. They hope that they will provide them with a "better life" in this way or prepare them to be "better" than others.