The Entitlement Trap

Subtitle: How to Rescue Your Child with a New Family System of Choosing, Earning, and Ownership

During their numerous speaking engagements around the world, Richard and Linda Eyre have discovered one thing to be true of virtually all parents, regardless of economic background, race or religion: they all want to give their children good values, a good education, and a chance to reach their full potential. But the Eyres have also noticed a startling fact: kids today are growing up with a false sense of entitlement and an increasingly unwillingness to work for things like allowance, cell phones, cars, and other extras.

In their book, The Entitlement Trap, #1 New York Times bestselling parenting experts Richard and Linda Eyre provide a new approach for a generation of parents who are struggling to raise responsible kids in an environment that attaches importance to wealth and materialism and embraces instant gratification. The Eyres have done away with traditional concepts like dolling out allowance to kids, instead encouraging parents to rework their own "Family Economy." The Eyres believe a firm Family Economy—where money is earned—is fundamental to overall development; with a strong financial foundation in place, children can grow to be well-rounded, responsible adults.

In The Entitlement Trap, the Eyres give parents the tools they need to raise children who are not just economically savvy, but have integrity and a strong work ethic. They encourage parents to open a family bank, issue checkbooks for kids and establish a system of initiative-building responsibilities that teach kids to earn money for the things they want. These simple financial lessons stay with children forever and overlap into other aspects of their lives; important decision-making skills, healthy reactions to tough life situations and productive interactions with difficult people can all be attributed to this new approach to money management.

The Eyres maintain that when kids don't work for something, they never feel the pride of owning it or the will to care for and develop it. And that, the Eyres contend, is the antidote to entitlement—the biggest barrier in raising children to be dependable adults. Even more importantly, they set a pattern for helping kids to proactively pursue their potential and internalize values that will stay with them forever.

A "save our children" call to action, The Entitlement Trap challenges some of the sacred cows of parenting and replaces them with values that will save kids (and their parents) from a lifetime of dependence and poor financial and life choices.

Praise for the book

"This book presents a whole new approach for a whole new generation of parents; it will become the standard for families throughout the world." —Stephen R. Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People