When I was school-aged, I knew exactly what was meant by a spoilt child. This would be somebody who always expected to get their way, whose parents attempted to meet their every whim, who was given whatever toys and treats they wanted, and who was allowed to behave however they liked. The archetype of this in the popular culture of my childhood was Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. In the story, she is the unbearable, selfish child, indulged by her pandering parents. As the Oompa Loompas note in their song following her downfall1, her parents are to blame for turning her into a monster:
Who turned her into such a brat?
Who are the culprits? Who did that?
Alas! You needn’t look so far
To find out who these sinners are.
They are (and this is very sad)
Her loving parents, MUM and DAD.
I am not a parent, and so I don’t take part in many discussions about parenthood. However, it’s difficult to miss those conversations when they occur online, and sometimes they do impinge on the world of education. I do not recall the last time I encountered a conversation about education that even acknowledged that a child could be spoilt.
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