30 Spoiled People Who Made Ridiculous Requests Because It Was Their Birthday

Bored Panda wanted to learn more about the relationship between entitlement and birthdays, as well as what can be done to ensure kids don't focus just on the gifts and materialistic gain on their special day, so we reached out to Suzanne Degges-White, Ph.D.

"When someone's sense of entitlement begins to encroach on the rights or good nature of others, then it's become a problem that the overly entitled person will need to address if they want to continue to enjoy the company of others," the Licensed Counselor, Professor, and the Chair at the Department of Counseling and Higher Education at Northern Illinois University told us. "It's normal to want to feel 'special' on special days, but when friends begin to resent you for the level of 'special treatment' you feel you deserve, it's time to back down and remember that everyone deserves to be thought of as special and treated with equal respect."

Professor Degges-White also shared her thoughts with Bored Panda about the best way for parents to raise their kids to value their birthdays as something other than 'gift bonanzas.'

According to the professor, parents ought to establish more appropriate celebrations from early on. That way, kids develop habits that steer them away from entitlement and towards having more humility and appreciation for other people.

"By making small events the 'annual birthday traditions' and including suggestions for 'giving back' to others on a birthday as a way to celebrate another year of maturity, families can raise children who don't expect to be showered with 'things' on their birthdays," Degges-White said.

"Traditions can include 'birthday pancakes' or 'cupcakes for breakfast' or some other celebratory start to the day. A special meal at dinner, getting out of chores on their birthday, and choosing a toy/book/clothing item to donate to a shelter or charity on the birthday are also ways to cultivate generosity and charity in children," the professor gave Bored Panda some ideas for how parents can raise their kids right.

"We all learn what we live and when we live in a world where we're feted and made to feel 'uber special' just by nature of a particular day rolling around on the calendar, we come to expect similar treatment throughout our lives. Small changes early on can make big differences down the road."

Most parents probably expect their kids to grow up to be productive, humble members of society. However, above everything else, they want them to be good people. It can be painful to see someone you love and care about exhibit signs of greed and lash out at others over small details.

Entitlement is usually not something that pops out of the woodwork over the course of a single day. It’s often years in the making. Helping someone (re)learn how to stay humble can be a huge challenge.

Living life with confidence, knowing your worth, wanting to get a fair share of doubloons for your efforts—that’s all perfectly fine and even healthy. Finding that balance between timidity and arrogance, however, can be far harder in practice.

Especially if you've never been called out for your behavior. You start believing that whatever you’re doing is fine. It’s the norm. Everyone does it. It can be a shock when someone finally snaps and tells you that, hey, you’re totally out of line here.

Learning to control your greed can be quite difficult. As financial expert Sam Dogen, from the Financial Samurai blog, put it in a previous interview with Bored Panda, the vast majority of people put a lot of emphasis on money.

“Everybody has either a money problem or a money desire,” he said.

For instance, if you happen to win the lottery, your relatives, friends, and acquaintances will probably expect to get a cut of your profits.

“If the winner doesn’t magnanimously share their winnings with family members and friends, they will be seen as selfish and greedy,” the financial expert told us.

“I’m all about Stealth Wealth. If you win the lottery, do your best to keep it a secret. Furthermore, if you win the lottery at work or in your investments, never brag about how much you make either. Instead, try to blend in as much as possible. You can always then be more generous with your money if you wish, without expectations,” he advised keeping these things under wraps.