Dear Entitled Children, Your Parents Don’t Owe You Anything : The Hearty Soul

Parents make the lifelong commitment of raising children, hoping to provide stability, education, and nourishment. However, some adult children develop a sense of entitlement, making unreasonable demands long after leaving home [1].

Heavily entitled individuals often make unrealistic demands of those around them, leading to conflicts when their expectations are not met. This behavior stems from a sense of entitlement that can be damaging in relationships (Khan)

This entitlement leaves parents emotionally drained. While they want their children to be happy, parents should not feel obligated to fulfill every request of their adult children [2].

Denise Yasmine discusses the entitlement many adult children feel toward their parents [3].

Adult children often harbor a sense of entitlement towards their parents, expecting support long into their adulthood. Gratitude and respect towards parents should always be maintained, recognizing that parents have already fulfilled their responsibilities (Denise)

Adults should understand that their parents are not obligated to provide ongoing support. Gratitude should be shown for any help offered, without taking advantage of parental resources [4].

Lightening the burden

Recognizing that parents won’t be around forever, it’s essential for adult children to lighten the load on their parents instead of expecting continuous support. While seeking occasional help is acceptable, entitlement to parental assistance is misguided .

It’s time for adult children to mature and realize that parents have already done their part in raising them. Rather than expecting constant assistance, it’s important to support and care for aging parents (Denise)