A spoiled child or spoiled brat is a derogatory term aimed at children who exhibit behavioral problems from being overindulged by their parents or other caregivers. Children and teens who are perceived as spoiled may be described as "overindulged", "grandiose", "narcissistic" or "egocentric-regressed". When the child has a neurological condition such as autism, ADHD or intellectual disability, observers may see them as "spoiled”.[citation needed] There is no specific scientific definition of what "spoiled" means, and professionals are often unwilling to use the label because it is considered vague and derogatory.[1][2] Being spoiled is not recognized as a mental disorder in any of the medical manuals, such as the ICD-10[3] or the DSM-IV,[4] or its successor, the DSM-5.[5]
Richard Weaver, in his work Ideas Have Consequences, introduced the term “spoiled child psychology” in 1948. In 1989, Bruce McIntosh coined the term the "spoiled child syndrome".[1] The syndrome is characterized by "excessive, self-centered, and immature behavior". It includes lack of consideration for other people, recurrent temper tantrums, an inability to handle the delay of gratification, demands for having one's own way, obstructiveness, and manipulation to get their way.[6] McIntosh attributed the syndrome to "the failure of parents to enforce consistent, age-appropriate limits", but others, such as Aylward, note that temperament is probably a contributory factor.[7] Temper tantrums are recurrent. McIntosh observes that "many of the problem behaviors that cause parental concern are unrelated to spoiling as properly understood". Children may have occasional temper tantrums without them falling under the umbrella of "spoiled". Extreme cases of spoiled child syndrome will involve frequent temper tantrums, physical aggression, defiance, destructive behavior, and refusal to comply with even the simple demands of daily tasks.[7] This can be similar to the profile of children diagnosed with Pathological Demand Avoidance, which is part of the autism spectrum.[8]
Potential causes
Failure of parents to enforce consistent, age-appropriate limits.[6]
Parents shielding the child from normal everyday frustrations.[6]
Provision of excessive material gifts, even when the child has not behaved appropriately.[6]
Children with underlying medical or mental health problems may exhibit some of the symptoms. Speech or hearing disorders, and attention deficit disorder, may lead to children's failing to understand the limits set by parents. Children who have recently experienced a stressful event, such as the separation of the parents (divorce) or the birth or death of a close family relative, may also exhibit some or all of the symptoms. Children of parents who themselves have psychiatric disorders may manifest some of the symptoms, because the parents behave erratically, sometimes failing to perceive their children's behavior correctly, and thus fail to properly or consistently define limits of normal behavior for them.[6]
Prevention
Parents can seek advice, support, and encouragement to empower them in parenthood from diverse sources.
Treatment
Treatment by a physician involves assessing parental competence, and whether the parents set limits correctly and consistently. Physicians will rule out dysfunction in the family, referring dysfunctional families for family therapy and dysfunctional parents for parenting skills training, and counsel parents in methods for modifying their child's behavior.[6]
Infants
In early infancy, a baby signals desire for food, contact, and comfort by crying. This behavior can be viewed as a distress signal indicating that some biological need is not being met. While parents sometimes worry about spoiling their children by giving them too much attention, specialists in child development maintain that babies cannot be spoiled in the first six months of life.[9] During the first year, children are developing a sense of basic trust and attachment.
Alfred Adler (1870–1937) believed that "only children" were likely to experience a variety of problems from their situation. Adler theorized that because only children have no rivals for their parents' affection, they will become pampered and spoiled, particularly by their mother. He suggested that this could later cause interpersonal difficulties if the person is not universally liked and admired.[10]
A 1987 quantitative review of 141 studies on 16 different personality traits contradicted Adler's theory. This research found no evidence of any "spoilage" or other pattern of maladjustment in only children. The major finding was that only children are not very different from children with siblings. The main exception to this was the finding that only children are generally higher in achievement motivation.[11] A second analysis revealed that only children, first-borns, and children with only one sibling score higher on tests of verbal ability than later-borns and children with multiple siblings.[12]
Later life
Spoiling in early childhood tends to create characteristic reactions that persist, fixed, into later life. These can cause significant social problems. Spoiled children may have difficulty coping with situations such as teachers scolding them or refusing to grant extensions on homework assignments, playmates refusing to allow them to play with their toys and playmates refusing playdates with them, a loss in friends, failure in employment, and failure with personal relationships. As adults, spoiled children may experience problems with anger management, professionalism, and personal relationships; a link with adult psychopathy has been observed.[13][14]
^ abcdefgVidya Bhushan Gupta (1999). "Spoiled Child Syndrome". Manual of Developmental and Behavioral Problems in Children. Inform Health Care. pp. 198–199. ISBN978-0-8247-1938-8.
^ abGlen P. Aylward (2003). Practitioner's Guide to Behavioral Problems in Children. Springer. p. 35. ISBN978-0-306-47740-9.
^"What is pathological demand avoidance? - NAS". Autism.org.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^. Archived from the original on 2008-12-25. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
^Adler, A. (1964). Problems of neurosis. New York: Harper and Row.
^Polit, D. F. & Falbo, T. (1987). "Only children and personality development: A quantitative review". Journal of Marriage and the Family. 49 (2): 309–325. doi:10.2307/352302. JSTOR 352302.
^Polit, D. F. & Falbo, T. (1988). "The intellectual achievement of only children". Journal of Biosocial Science. 20 (3): 275–285. doi:10.1017/S0021932000006611. PMID 3063715. S2CID 34618696.
^Leslie D. Weatherhead (2007). Psychology Religion and Healing. READ BOOKS. p. 272. ISBN978-1-4067-4769-0.
^Michael Osit (2008). Generation Text. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. p. 59. ISBN978-0-8144-0932-9.
Further reading
Bruce J. McIntosh (January 1989). "Spoiled Child Syndrome". Pediatrics. 83 (1): 108–115. doi:10.1542/peds.83.1.108. PMID 2642617.
Ricktober (October 2004). "Spoiled".
Eileen Gallo; Jon J. Gallo & Kevin J. Gallo (2001). Silver Spoon Kids: How to Raise a Responsible Child in an Age of Affluence. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN978-0-8092-9437-4.
Alfie Kohn (2016). The Myth of the Spoiled Child: Coddled Kids, Helicopter Parents, and Other Phony Crises. Beacon Press. ISBN978-0807073889.
January 24, 2023
spoiled, child, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, possibly, contains, original, research, please, improve, verifying, claims, made, adding,. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed August 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article is written like a personal reflection personal essay or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor s personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style August 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message A spoiled child or spoiled brat is a derogatory term aimed at children who exhibit behavioral problems from being overindulged by their parents or other caregivers Children and teens who are perceived as spoiled may be described as overindulged grandiose narcissistic or egocentric regressed When the child has a neurological condition such as autism ADHD or intellectual disability observers may see them as spoiled citation needed There is no specific scientific definition of what spoiled means and professionals are often unwilling to use the label because it is considered vague and derogatory 1 2 Being spoiled is not recognized as a mental disorder in any of the medical manuals such as the ICD 10 3 or the DSM IV 4 or its successor the DSM 5 5 Contents 1 As syndrome 1 1 Potential causes 1 2 Differential diagnosis 1 3 Prevention 1 4 Treatment 2 Infants 3 Only children 4 Later life 5 See also 6 References 7 Further readingAs syndromeRichard Weaver in his work Ideas Have Consequences introduced the term spoiled child psychology in 1948 In 1989 Bruce McIntosh coined the term the spoiled child syndrome 1 The syndrome is characterized by excessive self centered and immature behavior It includes lack of consideration for other people recurrent temper tantrums an inability to handle the delay of gratification demands for having one s own way obstructiveness and manipulation to get their way 6 McIntosh attributed the syndrome to the failure of parents to enforce consistent age appropriate limits but others such as Aylward note that temperament is probably a contributory factor 7 Temper tantrums are recurrent McIntosh observes that many of the problem behaviors that cause parental concern are unrelated to spoiling as properly understood Children may have occasional temper tantrums without them falling under the umbrella of spoiled Extreme cases of spoiled child syndrome will involve frequent temper tantrums physical aggression defiance destructive behavior and refusal to comply with even the simple demands of daily tasks 7 This can be similar to the profile of children diagnosed with Pathological Demand Avoidance which is part of the autism spectrum 8 Potential causes Failure of parents to enforce consistent age appropriate limits 6 Parents shielding the child from normal everyday frustrations 6 Provision of excessive material gifts even when the child has not behaved appropriately 6 Improper role models provided by parents 6 Differential diagnosis Children with underlying medical or mental health problems may exhibit some of the symptoms Speech or hearing disorders and attention deficit disorder may lead to children s failing to understand the limits set by parents Children who have recently experienced a stressful event such as the separation of the parents divorce or the birth or death of a close family relative may also exhibit some or all of the symptoms Children of parents who themselves have psychiatric disorders may manifest some of the symptoms because the parents behave erratically sometimes failing to perceive their children s behavior correctly and thus fail to properly or consistently define limits of normal behavior for them 6 Prevention Parents can seek advice support and encouragement to empower them in parenthood from diverse sources Treatment Treatment by a physician involves assessing parental competence and whether the parents set limits correctly and consistently Physicians will rule out dysfunction in the family referring dysfunctional families for family therapy and dysfunctional parents for parenting skills training and counsel parents in methods for modifying their child s behavior 6 InfantsIn early infancy a baby signals desire for food contact and comfort by crying This behavior can be viewed as a distress signal indicating that some biological need is not being met While parents sometimes worry about spoiling their children by giving them too much attention specialists in child development maintain that babies cannot be spoiled in the first six months of life 9 During the first year children are developing a sense of basic trust and attachment Only childrenMain article Only child Alfred Adler 1870 1937 believed that only children were likely to experience a variety of problems from their situation Adler theorized that because only children have no rivals for their parents affection they will become pampered and spoiled particularly by their mother He suggested that this could later cause interpersonal difficulties if the person is not universally liked and admired 10 A 1987 quantitative review of 141 studies on 16 different personality traits contradicted Adler s theory This research found no evidence of any spoilage or other pattern of maladjustment in only children The major finding was that only children are not very different from children with siblings The main exception to this was the finding that only children are generally higher in achievement motivation 11 A second analysis revealed that only children first borns and children with only one sibling score higher on tests of verbal ability than later borns and children with multiple siblings 12 Later lifeSpoiling in early childhood tends to create characteristic reactions that persist fixed into later life These can cause significant social problems Spoiled children may have difficulty coping with situations such as teachers scolding them or refusing to grant extensions on homework assignments playmates refusing to allow them to play with their toys and playmates refusing playdates with them a loss in friends failure in employment and failure with personal relationships As adults spoiled children may experience problems with anger management professionalism and personal relationships a link with adult psychopathy has been observed 13 14 See alsoChild discipline Freaky Friday Little Emperor Syndrome Oppositional defiant disorder Parenting Tantrum Grounding punishment References a b Bruce J McIntosh January 1989 Spoiled Child Syndrome Pediatrics 83 1 108 115 doi 10 1542 peds 83 1 108 PMID 2642617 Alder Alfred 1992 Individual Psychology Journal of Individual Psychology University of Texas Press 1992 23 24 355 ICD 10 Priory com Retrieved 2013 05 05 APA Diagnostic Classification DSM IV TR BehaveNet Archived from the original on 2011 10 26 Retrieved 2013 05 05 DSM 5 DSM 5 2016 10 01 Retrieved 2017 03 22 a b c d e f g Vidya Bhushan Gupta 1999 Spoiled Child Syndrome Manual of Developmental and Behavioral Problems in Children Inform Health Care pp 198 199 ISBN 978 0 8247 1938 8 a b Glen P Aylward 2003 Practitioner s Guide to Behavioral Problems in Children Springer p 35 ISBN 978 0 306 47740 9 What is pathological demand avoidance NAS Autism org uk Retrieved 22 June 2016 Can an Infant be Spoiled Archived from the original on 2008 12 25 Retrieved 2009 05 21 Adler A 1964 Problems of neurosis New York Harper and Row Polit D F amp Falbo T 1987 Only children and personality development A quantitative review Journal of Marriage and the Family 49 2 309 325 doi 10 2307 352302 JSTOR 352302 Polit D F amp Falbo T 1988 The intellectual achievement of only children Journal of Biosocial Science 20 3 275 285 doi 10 1017 S0021932000006611 PMID 3063715 S2CID 34618696 Leslie D Weatherhead 2007 Psychology Religion and Healing READ BOOKS p 272 ISBN 978 1 4067 4769 0 Michael Osit 2008 Generation Text AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn p 59 ISBN 978 0 8144 0932 9 Further readingBruce J McIntosh January 1989 Spoiled Child Syndrome Pediatrics 83 1 108 115 doi 10 1542 peds 83 1 108 PMID 2642617 Ricktober October 2004 Spoiled Eileen Gallo Jon J Gallo amp Kevin J Gallo 2001 Silver Spoon Kids How to Raise a Responsible Child in an Age of Affluence McGraw Hill Professional ISBN 978 0 8092 9437 4 Alfie Kohn 2016 The Myth of the Spoiled Child Coddled Kids Helicopter Parents and Other Phony Crises Beacon Press ISBN 978 0807073889 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Spoiled child amp oldid 1134883396, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
