We have all had to deal with situations that have made us uncomfortable, but most of us have not only overcome them, but have also embraced them because they have helped shape who we are today. With that being said, an emergence of entitled individuals has become more prominent in recent years, which unfortunately seems to be representative of the new generation.

The ultimate reason why this generation is starting to evolve into spoiled children is due to the fact that a number of parents are sheltering their kids far too much. An after-effect of this incessant coddling seems to make the adolescents turn into disillusioned adults with unrealistic expectations. As revealed in Nick Gillespie’s article taken from Time Magazine entitled “Millennials Are Selfish and Entitled, and Helicopter Parents Are to Blame,” “If millennials are self-absorbed little monsters who expect the world to come to them and for their parents to clean up their rooms well into their 20s, we’ve got no one to blame but ourselves — especially the moms and dads among us.”

To elaborate, Gillespie’s article made a great point by incorporating parents into the how-to-make-a-millennial formula. Of course, a child’s behavior may be different despite the way their parents raised them, but in this case, millennials tend to be accustomed to that “always a winner attitude” from early years of being pampered by their guardians. Many parents of millennials usually tend to always make their children feel like winners excluding any room for disappointment, and setbacks are very essential components of life that we must know how to deal with.

Though caregivers are still a major factor in the creation of the entitled generation, the individuals themselves are still the central contributors to their own demise in society. Children eventually grow up into adults and find it very difficult to continue their overly-privileged ways. For example, to survive in this world, millennials must learn to take on a job and conform to their environment in order to lead to a stable life. Kate S. Rourke from Inquiries Journal, wrote in her article, “You Owe Me: Examining a Generation of Entitlement,” that, “…children would rather not work at all than take a job they do not believe is luxurious enough for them and have no shame in sucking society’s economic pool dry. This never-ending cycle of blame evasion is perpetuating the trend.”

To interpret Rourke’s wise words, this generation is basically so accustomed to having their standards so high that they forget that life does not reward mediocre behavior. Promotions are only given to people who work hard for them and yes, that includes working in a place that is not “luxurious enough”. Overall, this new generation needs to learn how to progress from their mistakes and develop into full-grown adults who can handle the grimmer side of the world.

Of course, parents should always encourage their children to “reach for the stars,” but they should also teach the youth that life is the best and most difficult teacher that they will be taking harsh lessons from endlessly. They must teach children that life has no shortcuts and that they must bear through the ugly parts to reach their version of paradise. And as for the generation of today, we must pick ourselves up and stop playing the victim with our palms open always ready for our award.

Let us be the generation that should be grateful for never being drafted to fight in wars, existing in a time where technology is at its peak, and living in a nation where you can become anything you want to be. That is of course, if you put the effort in to make it happen.