I believe that most of us who are parents recognize that this role encompasses many things. We must take care of our children’s needs, especially when they are young. We should teach them right and wrong. We should teach them about responsibility. We should teach them many other things.

And at some point, we should teach them what it means to be an adult and especially what they will need to do for their children should they too become parents. Even if they choose not to be parents, their role as adults will be far different from that of children.

For many, both parents and children, both teaching and learning seems to be simple. While I am sure they face challenges, these challenges are more simple than they are for others. And, although they can be simple, some parts are more important than others.

Unfortunately, I believe that parents from my generation have failed in some areas. While we learned that life would have challenges, that there would be winners and losers, and that just becoming an adult did not automatically afford privilege equally. Instead of teaching this, we fell into the trap of teaching entitlement. Our children were taught that they were entitled to simple things like the best toys, the best clothes, everything that their friends possessed. They were not taught that not every parent could afford, monetarily or otherwise, the same things.

They were taught that in sports everyone was entitled to be on the team. And because they were on the team, everyone was entitled to equal playing time regardless of talent. They were taught that there were no winners or losers. Instead, everyone deserved the same trophy or reward. This sounds good on the surface but when you look at it more closely it does not reflect the real world they would live in as adults.

As our children grew older, they continued to feel entitled. And they wanted to give their children the same or more than was given to them. This continues even today. The problem has become that while everyone feels entitled in their youth, they seem to expect this in adulthood which is unrealistic.

An example is the current administration’s effort to eliminate student debt. When I went to college, my parents and I paid for my schooling. I worked during the school year and in the summers. I did not study abroad – I could not afford that. And yet today, as an American taxpayer, I am being expected to pay for the education of those who elected to incur indebtedness and now cannot repay that debt. Not everyone is entitled to go to college. Not everyone is entitled to a student loan. These are things that one must earn.

In another situation, a person who was working at a low-level job decided that they were entitled to a trip to Hawaii, not because they had enough money to afford the trip, but instead because one of their friends had taken a similar trip. This person then expected someone else to pay for the trip including of their personal expenses.

So, perhaps, our generation has contributed to the issue by creating this environment of entitlement. But at the same time, our children are old enough now to recognize that entitlement comes at a cost and the world is not always fair. For most of us, this means accepting what life throws at us and living within those constraints. If our children decide to live a different lifestyle, then that was their choice, but they should not expect us to support that lifestyle. We supported them as children, they need to support themselves now.