Dealing With the Greed Monster

Giving presents brings me so much joy. I love to watch facial expressions as gifts are opened. This week I gave Captain M. and Mr. B. an early Christmas present- The Night Before Christmas Recordable Storybook from Hallmark. I stayed up late one evening recording the book and I was excited to see their expressions as they heard my voice in the book.

Well, things didn’t go as my mind had planned. There was no excitement. In fact, the greed monster had taken over my sweet Captain M.

Captain M.: “I don’t want a special book. I want a toy!”

This statement was then followed by a full out tantrum. Yeah, not at all what I was expecting! It was very upsetting that my little boy was so ungrateful. I felt like a failure. Was my son really turning into a spoiled kid? Maybe I should have expected this as every other statement lately seems to be “I want that. Can you buy me this?”

After sending Captain M. to bed early, I had a flashback to my childhood. I was older than Captain M. but I can remember a similar experience. I really wanted a Jansport Backpack– that is what all of the “cool” kids had. My parents bought me a blue duffel bag that looked nothing like a Jansport. I remember throwing a fit and being so disappointed. I now look back and know exactly how my mom felt. She provided what she could for us. I know she was not able to afford the name brand bag. She must have been devastated that I was so ungrateful. The funny thing is I still have and use that blue duffel bag more than twenty years latter!

After some thought, I sat down with Captain M. and explained why I was so upset at him. When he woke up the next morning he told me he loved me and he had decided he wanted to keep the special book. Since then, the book has been played more times than I can count.

I am sure this is not the last time that my boys will be overtaken by the greed monster. I think this is a constant struggle with many of us. As we celebrate Christmas this year, we will continue to make a point to be grateful and thankful!

Have you dealt with this situation with your kids? What have you done to remedy greed and ungratefulness?

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Renae Chiovaro

Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.