Spoiling a kid

My friend has a teenage kid of high-school age, or nearly college-age, turning out to be a spoiled kid, I’m afraid. He has a know-it-all attitude that irritates me (any person who has this attitude irritates me no end); and tends to be boastful, especially to his classmates, of the material things (like tech gadgets, properties) that his family has. My friend has a high-paying job that requires her/him to travel a lot. (I’m not saying if my friend is a she or he so that she/he will not know too much that I’m talking about her/him if ever she/he gets to read this blog, LOL). Anyway, my friend misses her/his family much when she/he is away, and her/his family misses her/him much, too, especially this kid. I guess my friend tries to make up for her/his absences from home, which last from several days to a week or even more, by getting or buying almost anything that the kid wants to have. Sometimes, my friend tries to warn the kid that he is already asking too much. But it is just that, a warning, a warning with no teeth. Because next thing I know, my friend has already given the kid his latest wish. When this kid makes a mistake or throws a tantrum, my friend and her/his spouse tell off the kid with a stern voice. But usually, and most of the time, this really does not scare off the kid because he will just be doing the same “bad” thing next time around.

I wonder sometimes if the kid is, on the other hand, just trying to get the attention of the often-absent parent, my friend, that is why he is acting spoiled and a know-it-all when my friend is around to get her/his attention (although I think the kid is also like this even if my friend is in one of her/his business trips). But then, when my friend is not around at home, her/his spouse is, although wife/hubby is also an office-worker during the day. And maybe since wife/hubby is only at home usually at night during weekdays, and I do not know how often she/he is at home with the kid during weekends, her/his caring for the kid is still not enough. Maybe this spouse of my friend is actually kind of influencing the kid to be a braggart because she/he himself is sometimes, too. She/he is earning lesser than my friend, and she/he certainly is enjoying a lot of things from the earnings of my friend. And from what I have heard, the spouse of my friends brings to the office many things to give away after almost each trip of my friend, even sometimes without her/his consent.

Oh, well, I hope my friend and her/his spouse wake up soon enough to the fact that their kid is growing up to be a spoiled brat. Money is not everything, especially when it comes to bringing up a child who should have good manners and right conduct that will help carry him through to adulthood.