Now, I am going to add a disclaimer here. Nobody who knows me in real life would ever call me entitled. To the contrary, I have been told I am too much of a rule follower, need to be more...assertive, etc.
I do not understand some of the examples. For example, why would someone using the pool be more entitled to a table with a chair than someone doing the laundry? The tables and chairs are presumably there for all guests. If I had an iPod and a paperback book, I may prefer to sit at a table near the laundry room over a lounge chair by the pool for a variety of reasons. To keep my stuff from getting wet. To leave the lounge chairs available to those people who have children in the pool that they want to watch. Because my back kills me if I sit in a lounge chair. Because I may not be getting reception on an electronic device.
Moving chairs to other tables--If my family of five wants to sit at a four-top table together, and we want to move a chair to that table instead of using two tables for all five of us to sit down, why is that a problem? I understand the point about not moving the chair back, but I do not understand why taking chairs to a different table is a problem. Should there be a limit on only four people per group sitting? If there are more than four, should they sit at two different tables? Push the tables together? What is the non-entitled moral choice?
Finally, did someone really say that a four-year-old who informs an adult of something they mistakenly believe to be true is a brat just for having confronted an adult? If they were correct, would they still be a brat? For example, I reserved a pool for my child's birthday party, and I was being charged for every person who showed up, so I therefore made it a point to inform people who walked past the reserved sign that it was a private party. My child caught on, and also informed people, trying to be helpful to me and to the other person, because they believe that informing people of things is helpful. Let's say a week later, our family and friends were at another pool and were the only ones there and my four-year-old mistakenly believed that it was again a private party, and again started to inform people of this. Would my four-year-old be a brat both times? Only the time they were wrong? Does tone matter? Or is it just an expectation of the child/adult power dynamic that a child should not assert themselves to adults? I understand that point of view, but I do not teach my children that when it comes to strangers because I do not want them to feel they cannot assert themselves if they feel they are being mistreated or violated in some way. So of course I teach manners and respect, but I do not teach that respect requires submission. Does that mean I am raising the entitled brats?
The smoking, yelling outside of doors, blocking walkways and doorways, I completely agree. But some of the other examples, people using things that you want to use, and you feeling you are more deserving, makes it seem like the person complaining is the one with the entitlement complex.
All I could do not to hunt down the offender and repay the favor!
There is a restroom area for such activities
whatever happened to kids should be seen and not heard?
I value the opinions of children, which doesn't mean I allow them to boss me around but I do value and take into consideration their input.
