The Entitlement-Free Child {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to those who entered!}

My kids have toys. Too many toys. I've spent a lot of time at garage sales the past few summers and really can't pass up a good deal, so when there's a bargain calling out I can't seem to turn away and it ends up just having to come home with me. The girls have big toys and small toys and things that light up and blink and make noise (shudder) and things that are simple and wooden and run purely on imagination alone.


Even though it is an ongoing joke with family and friends that it's like walking into a toy store when you enter their playroom, I know that overindulging children is a serious issue and I've always been very careful about it with my own. No one wants to raise THAT CHILD. You know the one, the kind that has always been given everything they have ever wanted and is now screaming for a candy bar in the grocery store or yelling and stomping about having to wait their turn for a time on the swings at the park.

So, if no one wants to raise one of those children, how do some of them end up that way? Where can a parent find the strategies for how to bring up a well-rounded, respectful, confident child?


The Entitlement-Free Child, by Karen Deerwester, is a straightforward, easy to follow book that is written for parents to see results. What is entitlement? It's the "Me! Mine! Now!" attitude, often accompanied by a relentless demand for immediate gratification and a lack of self-control. Well-meaning parents who appease their child's every want and need are unknowingly taking away their child's ability to not only learn that self-control, but those children lose the knowledge of how to respect and work well with others and solve many of the problems they will encounter in life.

Deerwester writes, "The entitlement child doesn't accept 'enough' because he's afraid he might miss out on 'more.' The entitlement-free child, on the other hand trusts that his needs will be met, because he has learned that he can count on other people today and tomorrow. Life is okay even when he is frustrated, confused, or upset."

Parents want the best for their children, of course, and I'm included. But I know that I feel the same pressures that other moms do when it comes to giving them more than they really need to have a happy and memorable childhood. Will every choice that I make now affect the rest of their lives? If I haven't done my best at giving them all the advantages I can, will I be setting them back? In The Entitlement-Free Child, I learned that these are irrational thoughts and expectations to put upon myself and that it is okay to accept that I cannot make my children happy all the time.

Instead, this book highlights the entitlement or entitlement-free messages in parenting situations and shows you just how to meet your child's genuine needs while teaching respect and appreciation for others. The Entitlement-Free Child is a great resource for parents looking to encourage their child's potential and, from an early age, teach them that they matter. Other people matter. Not only that, but the two go hand in hand.

Would you like to have a resource to go to when you are looking for strategies to teach your children self-respect and respect for others? For hands-on tips to guide you through parenting situations such as bossiness, teacher conflicts and bickering siblings? Visit Karen Deerwester's website, Family Time, and...

One lucky person will win their own copy of The Entitlement-Free Child!

To enter to win your own copy of The Entitlement-Free Child: Tell me what about this book appeals to you or why you would like to win it. For yourself? For a friend? Please do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile. I have to have a way to contact the winner.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed, please leave a separate comment for each entry)
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Giveaway will end on October 5th at 11:59pm CST. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

A big thank you to Sourcebooks for providing me with a copy of The Entitlement-Free Child, as well as for one lucky giveaway winner.