10 crucial moments that gave a reality check to previously spoiled kids about life

The real world is quite challenging!

Saying "No" to the kids is quite difficult for parents because they hate to see them disappointed. Some parents go the extra mile and give whatever their child wants even if it is far from what they can afford. While parents consider it as pampering and coddling, this behavior can end up in raising spoiled kids who find it difficult to face challenges in the future. Spoiling is not just about buying their favorite toy or cooking their favorite meal all the time but also involves not teaching them to take care of themselves. Spoiled kids never take "no" for an answer and tend to become more demanding. With time they start to think only about themselves and turn out to be unappreciative of someone's efforts. Such kids are quite hard to please. And when the reality of life hits them, their resilience to face real-world problems is feeble. When Reddit user u/MisspeltWorld posted on the community asking, "Ex-spoiled kids, what were your reality checks?" more than a thousand people chimed in with their experiences. Here are 10 moments where previously spoiled kids got their reality checks.

1. Education over retirement savings

My family was middle class but treated me like they always had plenty of funds. When I heard that they took money out of their retirement savings so I could go to a private university, I turned in my transfer notice and came back to an in-state college and picked up a job as well. u/thehyruler. Sounds like they knew they raised them right and it was a worthy investment. I think some need to differentiate between spoiled and privileged. u/External-Egg-8094.

2. Work woes

Joining the workforce. The very first day of my first job I was like, "Oh s**t, this is what everyone was complaining about." u/GregHauser. Omg, I know. I was flabbergasted when I got my first full paycheck and had nothing left over to pay off my car, phone, insurance, credit card and medical insurance payments. I was like what the f**k Mom, how do you guys afford groceries, 2 cars and all this big house! u/Doesanybodylikestuff.

3. Monthly bills

When I discovered things like electricity and water come with monthly bills. u/protogens. That hit me when I got to college and did off-campus apt living with some friends. I had zero understanding that I had to pay for water. You can imagine my confusion even more when I had to put in $1.25 for the washing machines every week. The first thought I had was, "Who the f**k carries around loose change?" Now I have a little coin separator thingy in my car at all times and keep about $5 of loose change in it just in case! u/2Board_.

4. Living on my own

I was late to the game when it came to applying for colleges my senior year of high school, so when I got accepted to go to a school 8 hours away from my hometown, I missed the deadline to apply for a dorm or nearby apartment. I ended up living in a house four miles away from campus with no car and with the nearest bus stop being a 30-minute walk through tall grass next to a busy street with no sidewalks. I missed my bus the very first day of class and started sobbing. I called my mom and she empathized, but there was nothing she could do. That was the day I realized I had to start figuring things out on my own and life would no longer be easy. u/LiatKim.

5. Boarding school realities

Went to boarding school at 10, shared a room and one bathroom with 20 other girls and realized no one was going to conform to my morning & bedtime routines. Also, I was unpopular because I really was an odd little bird. Really was a smack in the mouth, both literally & figuratively. To this day I love my own space but I get on really well with people, even when I have to fake it. u/Chiya77.

6. Real-estate prices

Moving away from Seattle for the first time. I grew up feeling embarrassed because we lived in a "modest" house ($2m), compared to the >$10m mansions my friends lived in. At one point after a date I had them drop me off down the street and I walked home because I didn't want them to see my house. A literal $2m house. Moving out of that bubble and buying a house of my own smacked me in the face with the reality of how most people live and now looking back I can't help but laugh a little at the ridiculousness of it all. u/ih8plants.

7. Understanding debts

That you had to pay your debts back and debt was a real, countable thing. I always chalked it up to this imaginary thing that wasn’t a big deal. Oh boy. u/youoneupmyheart. I used to think "I don't have any debt. I don't have a credit card or a car or a mortgage so I'm debt free!" Then I remembered the government paid for my uni degrees and that that debt was indexed at the current rate of 7.10%, meaning I may never pay it off. u/AusXan.

8. Not the main character

Not spoiled, but many of the adults in my life as a child thought it was a good idea to infuse me with an abundance of "I am the main character" energy. Parents, teachers, folks at church, all of them. It was a f*****g rude awakening in my 20s when I went out into the world and discovered everyone didn't exist to open doors and grease the skids for me. u/Leaflock.

9. No more toys

I (22M) used to get lots of toys in the mail as a kid. One day, when I was around 6 or 7, I didn't get a package in the mail and I chucked a huge tantrum. My parents immediately told me they were no longer giving me toys in the mail, and they followed through. From that day on, I didn't get any more packages. It's not a big story, but it was a huge lesson in humility and being grateful for what I have no matter what. u/simplysimple.

10. Humble friends

When I was complaining to a college classmate about how my laptop battery wouldn’t last for a whole class and I was hoping for a new one from my parents for Christmas. I then learned her parents were homeless and she was just hoping by Christmas they’d have a roof over their heads. Big wake-up call. We remain friends to this day. u/HiddenSquish. My friend who's unaware that he's rich thinks that his laptop is outdated after a year so he wants to constantly have a new one yearly. u/NoFaithlessness7327.