When we treat our kids like friends, talk to them like peers, and allow their behavior toward others to slide beyond casually friendly into thoughtlessness—when we allow them to be consistently disrespectful to others (including ourselves), to take people for granted, and to treat people civilly only when they feel like it—we are not teaching them positive lessons about being authentic and true to themselves. We are teaching them to feel self-important and entitled instead of compassionate and kind, showing them that it’s totally okay to put their happiness and their needs above others’.
