moviefreakedmind said:
I do generally think that people have a really self-centered attitude that they may not have if they weren’t the center of the universe when they were kids.
I’m currently fighting this with my daughter. But it’s a bit of a juggling act. I want her to be independent and to learn to do things on her own, but I also want to teach her that she can and should rely on others for help, and that she won’t always get her way. Sometimes not letting her have her way isn’t that important for a particular whatever-it-is. It really depends on the situation, the innate personality of the child, and it’s complicated by deciding in that moment which lesson I’m deciding to teach her.
I don’t want her to always get her way, but I want her to know if I say “no” there’s a reason for the no, not just because I felt like it; I want her to be independent, but I don’t want her to make a mess, break things, or hurt herself.
Also, if I’m playing a video game and she asks me to play blocks with her, I have to decide whether I want to teach her not to hog my attention or to encourage her to interact with other people in a tactile environment. Plus I have to decide if what I’m doing is comparatively all that important for my own self. No, she’s not the center of the universe for everyone, but neither should I be for me.
It’s complicated.