No parent intends to spoil their kid, bottom line. But as circumstances, age, and love would have it, often it turns out the opposite. Especially when it’s not you, but other parents, family members and friends pointing out that your mini-me is badly behaved. How dare they call that little angel that way!
So today, we are diving into a series of real-life quasi-horror stories about “spoiled brat” kids from people who encountered them. From babysitters to school teachers, here are some of the most shocking and eye-opening examples of just how treating a kid too indulgently and letting them get away with anything backfires against you.
And you know how it goes: spoiled kids grow up into spoiled adults, or some grown-ups act like they were spoiled kids. Of course, we are all kids at heart, but hey, rolling on your back in Wal-mart for not getting what you want from life when you're 30+ (or wanting to do that!) is probably a no-go.
Scroll down through the stories below and be sure to share your thoughts on the subject matter in the comment section!
#1
In college, I was trying to work out how I was going to purchase a textbook that I needed for a class. I had come to the conclusion that I had to wait till the next week when my part time job paycheck came in and I'd try to survive in the class until then. My friend took notice of this and came to me the next day with a brand new text book that he bought with the credit card his parents gave him. Said he buys so much on the card that his parents wouldn't question him about it even though he didn't get it for himself. He was super spoiled, but also helped me out so I can't sh*t on him.
212points
#2
The Macbook Girl Incident.
I was a student tech at our university, so I was usually helping with repairing student and the occasional professor's laptop or desktop. However, during a big sale, it was required that we helped freshman and their parents with buying computers from the student store. Now, we had two options at this point for students who chose to buy our laptops with a student discount. We had Dell Latitudes and Insprions, and we had Macbooks. A girl and a father walked in and she darted right over to the Macbooks. She knew exactly which one she wanted. Her father told her that they didn't have the cash for the laptop, and at my recommendation, we settled on a Dell Latitude Laptop. I thought it would be an easy sale.
Well, the father and I did. The daughter did not agree with our opinion. She threw a f*cking tantrum right in the middle of the store, initially with hushed reservations which escalated to her loudly calling her father out, telling him how much of a good girl she was, how much of a sh*tty father he was because he wouldn't buy her things like her mother always did, and how he was RUINING HER LIFE, because she would be unpopular if she didn't have a Macbook. The father then said he was stepping out for five minutes, at which point she began asking random customers to help defend her, all of them looked at her like she was crazy, one even told her that they'd buy the dell laptop from her for fifty bucks minus retail, others said they'd be happy to get any laptop for free, and she should be too, that their parents never helped them through college, etc. When the father came back, they continued fighting, and he left once again, telling her she was not getting the Macbook. She left a minute or so later.
Fifteen minutes later, she came to the register where I was at, and asked for a Macbook Pro. When I plopped down the box, her eyes widened. I took the card out of her hand, and examined it. It was obviously the Father's card. I asked for ID, and did the usual policy for high end purchases. Because it was not her card, I declined the sale. She gave me every excuse in the book, oh he's outside, dad gave me the card, blah blah blah. None of it stuck and I refused the sale, explaining the situation to the store manager, who had seen the entire thing and confirmed it. The father, confident where his daughter was, came storming in a few seconds later. He asked her what happened and I told him exactly what had happened, and she gave me extremely dirty look as I handed back the card. She had stolen the card from the backpack the father was carrying their stuff in. She turned quickly and begged for the dell laptop, but the father refused anything, saying he had a much better punishment. We all laughed and cringed. Others in the line chuckled.
I saw her two months later and she scowled at me, blaming me for not just swiping the damned card, because she had to use the lab computers for everything for an entire semester as punishment. I laughed, and walked back to my desk.
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193points
#3
A friend of mine from high school. She was filthy rich thanks to her step-dad. I'm just going to list a few of the things I remember about her:
- Her mom and step-dad asked her for permission if they could have a child together and she told them no because she wanted to be an only child.
- She constantly whined because her parents refused to move out of the master suite of their mansion. She felt that she deserved it because the attached walk in closet and bathroom were bigger than hers. To reconcile this, she had her parents pay to redecorate her room every single year.
- On her 16th birthday, her step-dad gave her his one-year-old hummer. She full on cried when he tried to give her the keys because it was the "wrong color" and used. They went out and bought her a brand new one in the color she liked that day.
- She only wore designer clothes and would constantly make fun of people who couldn't afford to wear the same. When we went to the mall, I would often buy nothing, but her parents would give her not one, but two credit cards to buy whatever she wanted.
- She hated doing her homework so her mom and step-dad did all of it, including writing her papers and doing her school projects.
- She had her own private bonus room with a flat screen, multiple gaming systems, a desktop, massage chairs, a pool table, etc. If her parents tried to go in it then she would scream at them.
- Her mom and step-dad asked her for permission if they could have a child together and she told them no because she wanted to be an only child.
- She constantly whined because her parents refused to move out of the master suite of their mansion. She felt that she deserved it because the attached walk in closet and bathroom were bigger than hers. To reconcile this, she had her parents pay to redecorate her room every single year.
- On her 16th birthday, her step-dad gave her his one-year-old hummer. She full on cried when he tried to give her the keys because it was the "wrong color" and used. They went out and bought her a brand new one in the color she liked that day.
- She only wore designer clothes and would constantly make fun of people who couldn't afford to wear the same. When we went to the mall, I would often buy nothing, but her parents would give her not one, but two credit cards to buy whatever she wanted.
- She hated doing her homework so her mom and step-dad did all of it, including writing her papers and doing her school projects.
- She had her own private bonus room with a flat screen, multiple gaming systems, a desktop, massage chairs, a pool table, etc. If her parents tried to go in it then she would scream at them.
138points
If you’re a parent to a young kid, people glaring at you is something you’re probably familiar with. Whether it’s a public tantrum in the candy aisle at the supermarket, or the stares when your mini-me gets away with acting like a big boss, you just know what’s going on their minds: “what a spoiled brat.”
#4
in person? Ben Roethlisberger. The biggest spoiled little kid I've ever met was ~25 years old and actually said, verbatim, "Do you know who I am?" when a bouncer wouldn't let him and his entourage cut in front of a line of 50+ people to get into a night club. It was both hilarious and nauseating. After Ben stormed off (with the obligatory "I'll talk to your boss" threats), people were tipping the doorman for the entertainment.
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132points
#5
I was talking about the water crisis with my students and we were discussing what the response would be if our local area had an impending Day 0. One of my students shrugged and said, "well, I would just go to our house in Spain."
I reminded her that this wasn't an option for the majority of the population and her response was, "well, it's not my fault if they can't afford it. Get a job."
It was the very beginning of the school year and the majority of my students in that class were from low-income familes who had never been overseas let alone had a holiday house in Europe. She sat by herself for the rest of the year and I don't believe it was by choice.
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131points
#6
I know a couple who couldn't have children. They finally got approved for adoption when they were older and they finally got their first child in their mid to late 50s.
They were just so happy with finally having a child that they spoiled him rotten. Anything he wanted, they gave him. He grew up demanding things and throwing tantrums. They let him eat what he wanted so he ballooned in size. Eventually he dropped out of school because he didn't want to go and his parents were fine with this until the state told them they weren't allowed to do this, so they got his butt back into school, which he failed miserably in because he didn't give a sh*t.
He was eating away at all of their savings. He would randomly pick up new hobbies and needed top-of-the-line things for those hobbies, which he gave up on after a few months. His parents received an inheritance, and he blew through that entire amount within a few months, spending on stupid sh*t.
Eventually, his mother passed away, and his elderly dad, who is in his 70s, is having to work two full jobs while his son, now in his 20s, does nothing all day except drive around in his vehicle, live streaming himself talking while driving. He's already had two accidents from filming himself while driving.
His extended family tried to have a family meeting with the dad, telling him that he's got to put his foot down because his son is going to kill someone, and when the dad finally had a talk with the son, the son attacked him, knocking him down a flight of steps.
He didn't want to press charges. After he got well again, he went back to working his two jobs, and became an alcoholic during his non-work hours, letting his son run all over him because he is terrified of telling him "No".
The worst part... the dad has spent his entire retirement fund on this "kid". He is going to have to work until he dies because he has a parasitic son who refuses to do anything except spend spend spend.
126points
You may argue that every kid has their off days. And it’s true even with adults; on some days we are better versions of ourselves than others. But it’s all part of being human. However, what separates spoiled kids from kids who are acting weird on a given day is that the former ones “are stuck in ‘me’ mode,” suggests Michele Borba, an educational psychologist. If that mode when the world has to revolve around them is their daily MO, you’re raising a spoiled kid, bottom line.
#7
I was at a friends house who has two little girls, about 7 and 2 and it was around Christmas time. My friend also had a few other friends over who had brought Christmas presents for the two girls. The 7 year old opened one of the presents (mermaid/ocean puzzle and a book) and started crying because she didn’t like the gift. My friend, the mom, tried to console her but she continued having a tantrum. So the mom then asks the friend who brought the present if she wouldn’t mind getting her something different because the daughter didn’t like what she got. The friend looked pretty uncomfortable but agreed she would consider taking the presents back in exchange for something else. The mom said her daughter really wanted an American girl pony, much more expensive than the two presents the friend originally bought. Mom then proceeds to leave the house to go buy this pony for her daughter. Mind you, mom’s friends were from out of town visiting and she just randomly leaves to get her daughter this pony because she’s still throwing a tantrum. Mom comes back, and has the friend give her daughter the new toy.
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113points
#8
Guy I went to school with. He was a rich brat who got whatever he wanted, immediately and without question. He came to school with designer clothes, bag, watches, etc. and bought thv latest and most expensive phones as soon as they released.
For his 16th birthday, his parents bought him a brand new MG roadster. Dude never took any driving lessons but took it out in the roads anyway. Within a week, he wrapped it around a lamppost. He somehow walked away with minor injuries but the car was a total loss, it wasn't even recognisable as a vehicle. How did his parents react to their child driving illegally and completely destroying what was at the time a seriously expensive car?
They bought him another one.
107points
#9
Have a billionaire customer with 4 kids, all of them pretty spoiled but the youngest once said to me spitefully "we're going on tiger next week and you're not allowed to come."
(Tiger is the name of their yacht in southern italy)
It's not just that he's spoiled that gets to me, it's the fact he knows it and rubs it in.
101points
On the other hand, the word spoiled itself may be flawed when referring to ill-behaved kids who think and act like they’re superior to others. It may wrongly suggest that the kid is “ruined” and that there’s nothing that can be done about it. But this is not true. So to find out what exact steps parents could take in unspoiling their child, we reached out to Lynn How. Lynn is the author of “Positive Young Mind” and a life coach who specializes in supporting educators, parents, and children with improving and prevention of mental health issues.
#10
Ex-friend of mine was given a puppy at his 7th birthday party. He threw a tantrum because he didn't like the breed.
Thankfully, the puppy was given to his aunt and the little sh*t was told he would never have a pet. Cue epic tantrum saying he changed his mind. Nope. Didn't work.
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101points
#11
My friend's ten-year-old son is a brat, and always getting sent to his room for one thing or another. The other day, I peeked in to the kid's room. Laptop, desktop, TV, and three game systems. Oh my god, what a horrible punishment. Amnesty International is going to write letters about this.
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99points
#12
My 11yo cousin didn't feel like cutting her food, so her dad cut it for her. Later, she didn't want to read her school assignment, so her father read it to her.
95points
According to the life coach, after realizing the problem, a parent should be proactive in wanting to change it. Leaving it as it is will not only not help the situation, it may also worsen it. “Be committed to make a change,” Lynn said, referring to the very first step. She added: “Get used to saying no and letting them have the tantrum, then saying no again.” It turns out, our words have so much more power than we believe if we really stick to what we say.
#13
An old friend of mine and his family are loaded. They constantly get the newest car, massive house, multiple out of country vacations a year first class, and he’ll get the most expensive tickets possible for concerts and mommy and daddy would never say no.
When the iPhones/ and iPod touches were blowing up, he asked for a very specific color and GB for the iPod touch. It was near Christmas time and they were sold out EVERYWHERE. His mom was so disappointed that she paid a lady at the mall DOUBLE the price of the newest iPhone max GB while she was walking out and so he could get something similar since she couldn’t find what he really wanted for Christmas.
Fast forward to Christmas Day, he opened the box and was so pissed it wasn’t what he wanted that he threw it so hard onto the floor saying that it wasn’t what he asked for. It was DESTROYED. Then he called her a b**** and left to his room without opening the rest of his presents.
She then had a breakdown and went to the mall again to ask for what he wanted for the next few weeks until yet again, someone had just bought one and she paid double to gift it for him again.
That was the last time we ever spoke and from what I hear, he has no job, still lives with mom and dad, no high school diploma, upgrades his Mercedes every year, and decided that he’s going to be a rapper or nothing at all.
94points
#14
I used to baby sit these kids. The one girl didn't feel like doing her homework, so I told her we only have a couple problems left and I had been helping her, so it was gonna go by quickly, and we could play games as soon as she was done.
In response, she told me she wished I was dead (this girl was 6 years old), threw a bunch of crackers on the floor, kicked her dog in the nuts, and said she was going to blame it all on me and get me fired. Of course, her parents didn't believe I threw food on the floor and assaulted their dog, but there was absolutely no repercussions for what she did. They just turned their heads, put their hands on their hips and were like, "what did we say about lying?" And that was it.
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88points
#15
My husband and I moved to a new city and spent a lot of time with his gal pal from high school. She had a toddler son who was absolutely atrocious and without mental disability. She threatened him with punishment all of the time for his behavior but never followed through. We would often meet her for dinner where he would throw a tantrum, and she’d say, “If you keep acting like that, we’re leaving.” He kept acting up but she never left with him.
She had him with a live-in partner who is Cuban and grew up with a “Cuban boys should be treated like gods” mentality. One time we saw her get upset with the kid for throwing a toy at her head, only to see the kid’s dad yell at her, “No! You shouldn’t have given him that toy! Now YOU apologize to HIM!” The kid was in a stroller until he was 5 because he couldn’t be trusted not to run off into traffic when they were out in public.
The last time we hung out with them, we went mini-golfing. Each time one of us hit our ball, he would snatch it and throw it across the course. I wisened up to this and immediately went to pick up my ball for safekeeping after I hit it. As I was picking it up, he tried to grab it out of my hand and fell over lightly. He laid on the ground, pounding his fists and crying. His parents looked at me like I was the a*shole. We ended up limiting our time with them as a result of the kid’s bad behavior.
80points
Lynn continued with her tips: “Follow through on behavior sanctions and ensure sanctions are consistent as well as the right size—don’t say, for example, ‘if you do that again we are going home’ when you have no intention of actually going home!”
Most importantly, the life coach reminds parents that changes don’t happen overnight and you gotta just stick to it and keep at it. Getting friends and family on board may also work wonders. “For example, make sure your partner doesn’t give in when you have said ‘no,’ make sure you are on the same page,” Lynn explained.
#16
Spoiled child syndrome that bled into adulthood. I work at a collection agency, and this guy racked up a 200k debt. Thing is, anything of that size we had to go over financials.
Dude got 60k a month from his father. A month. He got more in a month than I do in a year. But, still followed procedures. He claimed huge amounts for expenses. Didn’t add up to the 60k though, only 20k a month. Dude could pay off his debt in half a year. He then informs me he can’t afford the 40k monthly payment, as he is renovating his house. And spending all of that 40k each month on said renovations.
Thing is, he was technically employed by his father, and that was a garnishment source. So when he basically threw a tantrum and hung up. I just hit send on a wage garnishment, which his father would likely see.
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80points
#17
I worked at Toys R Us so I had to listen to some pretty ridiculous sh*t. What stuck with me though was a boy, who was about 9, tell his mother they better leave with the nerf gun or else she know what he’ll do when they get home. The look on his face was akin to that of a person who purposefully belittles their spouse in public.
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70points
#18
Some douchenugget who once told me he was going to feel like he was living in poverty if he made anything less than a million a year. The kid lived in Idaho, wasn't even 20 yet and had never worked a day in his life.
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67points
Teaching your child to be responsible from an early age is also crucial. One such way to go about it is simply providing them pocket money instead of buying them things so they have a better understanding of the value of money, Lynn said.
#19
Not a kid, he’s in his late 20’s, but he “works” for his rich dad’s company, but takes a week long “business” trip at least once a month and posts Facebook statuses b*tching about the most minor inconveniences on his vacations. For example he posted a paragraph berating the “stupid idiot” waitress who didn’t cut the limes small enough to fit into his Corona bottle, and how he didn’t tip her because she “didn’t deserve it”.
67points
#20
Kid at my high school.
When he was 14 he had a learners permit but his parents got him a Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Every day he drove it to school and he was determined to park it in the parking lot to show it off. So he had his housekeeper drive to school with him and her son drove a car behind her to take her back home (which was only about 2 miles away from our school).
When he was 14 he had a learners permit but his parents got him a Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Every day he drove it to school and he was determined to park it in the parking lot to show it off. So he had his housekeeper drive to school with him and her son drove a car behind her to take her back home (which was only about 2 miles away from our school).
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66points