The increasing number of conduct-disordered children has been exacerbated by parents who overindulge their children i.e., spoiled children. Parents who spoil their children- These children/teens are creating complex community problems, and complications for educators and are clogging our legal system. Bright, achieving, loving parents with pronounced selective thinking distortions may confuse love with overindulgence. Their over-indulgences stop them from mentoring their children, leading the children to grow up without the necessary life skills to successfully function as a young adult. Oftentimes, they are living at home, limping through some form of college, and may either have concurrent marijuana problems or anger issues. The complications of overindulging children include symptoms of conduct disorder, psychopathy, acute self-centeredness, intense detachment leading to anger and resentment, excessive dependency on mom (hounding mom to death…), entitlement, manipulation, and impaired social skills.

Spoiled Children -Parental counseling offers a cognitive-behavioral understanding of the thinking distortions and how to undo this destructive parenting pattern. Although many overindulgent parents are parents that love their children, the research is telling us that this is not true of all overindulgent parents. Therefore, parents overindulge their children as a mask for abuse or other destructive patterns.

If you have lived or worked with oppositionally defiant children and teens, you know that they can be exasperating and exhausting.

However, these children have untapped riches, talents, and insights that can be a pleasure to uncover, engage and watch take flight. Counseling provides these children with training and support in the areas of emotion regulation, attention, organization, sequencing, planning, impulse regulation, and the instruction of certain life skills.