Teaching kids an attitude of gratitude is perhaps one of the most challenging endeavors a parent can face. In a culture that teaches “me first” and breeds entitlement, it’s no wonder we’re raising a generation of youth that has no clue how fortunate they are to have what they do.
In response to a child’s ungratefulness, we have a few obvious choices: to cater to them, to push back, or to teach them a valuable lesson. Though it’s often easiest to just cave into their desires and temper tantrums, thankfully there are mamas like Haley Hassell taking the path less traveled by opting to teach lessons in tough love.
In a viral Facebook post, Haley explains that her daughter Presleigh LOST it when she got a pencil box that everyone in her class already had. The furious little girl tossed it in the trash while exclaiming “I don’t want it anymore!”
Though tempted to go “Madea mad” on the child who trashed the pencil case she went to THREE stores to find, Haley calmed down and got a different idea that is inspiring parents everywhere to teach their own children the importance of gratefulness.
Read her powerful post in full below:
“Presleigh learned a tough love lesson today… I went to 3 different stores to get that LOL pencil box you see in the trash there. When I surprised her with it this afternoon (just knowing she would be ecstatic) she stared at it and threw it in the trash and slammed the bedroom door.
She yelled “that’s stupid, everyone in my class has that..I don’t want it anymore!”
..WHHHHAT STOP COME AGAIN? OK So by this time there was Probably smoke coming out of my ears and I’m trying real hard not to completely lose it on this kid that I have worked so hard to completely take care of financially on my own & make sure she always gets what she needs and then some.
BUT I thought I had always taught her to be grateful & know how lucky she was but apparently sis needed a small wake up call!!
