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Every parent is concerned with raising happy children and helping them grow, but a lot of parents believe the only easy way to make their kids happy is by showering them with gifts and bending to their every whim. While you want to make your child feel like royalty as often as possible, doing this too often can make them spoiled and entitled. This is the last thing you want for your kids, so here are a few ways to make them feel good and stay grounded.
Dress Them Well
Everyone feels better when they look good, and this is a great way to help your kids feel special, whether it’s every day or for an important occasion. When they’re younger, it’s easy to make your daughter feel like a princess with a white lace dress ready for a family photo shoot, but be aware that she might never want to take it off ever again.
You can find plenty of stylish kids clothes without spending a fortune, too. Second-hand shops or donations from friends mean you won’t need to be that parent who decks their kids out of designer gear, because if your child can’t read the labels, what’s the point?
Validate Them
A lot of kids struggle with feeling like their parents don’t listen to them. They think that you dismiss any feelings or emotions because they’re just kids, and their opinions aren’t worth anything.
But, showing respect to your kids and validating their emotions is an effective way to treat them like royalty, as it cultivates an idea of being equals, at least in some areas. While you won’t ask them to make big decisions about buying a new car or prioritising bills, you can ask where they want to go on holiday, or simply listen to them when they seem down in the dumps.
Help Them Learn Independence
At some point in the future, you need to let your child make their own decisions. You know they cannot rely on you forever, so help them learn independence by giving them all the tools they need to learn more about themselves.
The more you trust them, the more confident they become, and this enables your kids to embrace independent thinking, which will be an important skill later in their lives.
Show Them How to Have Fun
Everyone loves to have fun; this is not a secret. However, kids often believe that the onl6y way to have fun is by spending hundreds and even thousands of pounds on trips or activities.
While treating them to a trip to Disneyland is something all parents want to do, you should also show them how to have fun without spending money on pricey admission tickets. Something as simple as a picnic or going on an adventure around the neighbourhood can inspire some imagination and show them they don’t need money to have a good time.
Spoiler Alert
No parent wants to raise a spoiled child, but this can happen if you’re not careful. What begins as a little treat here and there soon becomes something more difficult to deal with. There’s nothing wrong with treating your kids like royalty, but make sure to balance this with rules and education that ensures they do not veer into entitlement.