Rich Kid Syndrome

“Once upon a time there was a man so poor, so poor, that he only had money.” And it is that material wealth does not provide any type of emotional wealth. Rich kid syndrome is real, and that’s why we want to tell you all about it.

We live in a society of exacerbated consumption. It is no secret that society presents us with numerous products that make us believe that only by owning them we will be happy.

But is happiness really that? When we are children, we do not give so much importance to things. In fact, the material is, for a child, only a means of amusement. Never an end in itself. However, it is reaching the critical point where it is educated by and to be able to have things. This is how the rich boy syndrome was born.

Rich kid syndrome

The child syndrome or “richness” is a disorder associated with those children who have grown up in environments of overprotection and material compensation for lack of attention, time or affection. It does not necessarily have to occur in wealthy families, but also in middle class families that use these material resources as a parenting method.

Those affected by this syndrome often present a “spoiled child” or spoiled behavior, who believes they have the right to everything and who does not ask or ask, demands.

They are lazy children and have a very low tolerance for frustration , which makes them not know how to manage the fact that they are not granted what they ask for. They are also often violent and have fits of rage when they don’t get what they want.

Consequences of rich kid syndrome

These children end up suffering from various problems in the development of their personality. When these children grow up, they usually have:

• Low self – esteem . They have not been helped to develop their potential, since they have always been given everything without having to do anything, that is, without effort.

• Poor emotional management . They do not know what to do with their own emotions and these cause them more than one dislike. No one has told them what to do when they are sad, angry or happy, so they lack emotional management tools.
• Very low tolerance for frustration . They are not capable of assuming that there are times when what one wants is not achieved and that things do not always turn out the way we expect.
• Aggressiveness . They present high levels of aggressiveness due to the points previously mentioned. They usually present behavioral problems in the school, family and / or social environment.
• Alcohol and drugs. A high percentage of adolescents raised in these contexts have problems with alcohol or marijuana.
• Low academic performance . They tend to have poor school performance since they do not have the ability to visualize goals in life.

Parental responsibility?

In many cases it is. In an attempt to introduce their child to this consumer society, many parents believe that the important thing is that their child has everything, and if it is in duplicate, the better.

Thus, they supply children with numerous toys, the latest mobile models and an endless amount of clothing that they do not really need. Many times what they want is nothing more than to compensate for the time they cannot dedicate to them with what they believe can make up for their absence. However, this is a serious mistake that can have unfavorable consequences for children.

In addition, many of these parents are characterized by being very permissive with their children, which leads to a lack of limits and little compliance with rules.

What can be done to avoid getting rich kid syndrome?

• The time you spend with your children must be of quality . It is understandable that work is a necessity, but the time you spend with them should be the best of the day for everyone. Try to take advantage of it to play with him and also to help him with homework and study.
• Set standards. Children need limits and rules to help them differentiate between what is good for them and what is not. It is not about being authoritarian, there are a thousand ways to educate adequately without getting there.
• Make their effort pay off.  Teach them that with effort they will be able to achieve many things. To do this, help them discover their qualities and enhance them. In addition, you can reward them when they achieve an achievement as long as you consider in advance which award is the most appropriate for each age and without exceeding certain limits.

Meet the first case of exonerated for suffering from rich child syndrome in this link.