Avoiding Overindulgence Helps Teach Kids Valuable Life Lessons

It’s that time of year when kids are creating their lists and checking them twice to make sure mom and dad know everything they want. But parents, keep in mind that it’s merely a “wish list”, not a “must get list”.

As a father, I’d like to give my kids everything. As a psychotherapist, I know that avoiding overindulgence now will in the end teach my children valuable life lessons, such as delayed gratification and working hard for things they want.

This is not to say that the holiday season can’t be enjoyed. Take a few footnotes from the book How Much Is Enough? Everything You Need to Steer Clear of Overindulgence, and you’ll be on the right track for identifying when enough is enough:

Giving children too much of what looks good, too soon and too long
Giving them things or experiences that are not appropriate for their age, interests or talents
Giving things to children that meet the adult's need, not the child's need
Giving a disproportionate amount of family resources to one or more children in a way that appears to be meeting the children's needs but does not.
Finally, doing or having so much of something that it does active harm to or at least stagnates and deprives that person of achieving his or her full potential.

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