Most parents worry a lot these days about the entitlement attitudes they are giving their kids–but maybe we don’t worry enough about the flip-side of that–about how to give our kids grit, which is the opposite of entitlement. Grit means self-reliance and determination and knowing how to work. It means tenacity and initiative, and it is perhaps the single greatest prerequisite to achievement and accomplishment and success in life.
There are two powerful things that parents can do to give their kids more grit:
First, set up a family economy in your home, complete with a family bank, household tasks or chores for each child, and a payday each Saturday where kids’ reward is directly proportional to how well they did on their jobs. Have the family bank pay interest, and make it so the kids can earn enough to buy their own “stuff” rather than begging you for it.
Second, create a family narrative of ancestor stories whereby your kids learn about their grandparents and great grandparents and about the successes they attained and the difficulties they went through. Help your kids realize that they are one fourth from each of their grandparents and one eighth from each of their great grandparents and that they have the same drive and resilience in their blood.
For more (much more) on replacing entitlement with grit: