Parents have raised a generation of spoiled little princesses

The only-child generation: little princesses or helpless?

Since families started having fewer children, a critical current has emerged claiming that girls are being raised as spoiled little princesses, never learning to do household chores or take on responsibility. However, a closer look reveals that the problem affects both sens: boys are also treated as little princes, and the common cause is overprotection in households with an only child or with divorced parents who compensate with pampering.

The myth of the domestic little princess
Those who defend the original thesis argue that today's girls don't know how to cook, clean or look after themselves, because from an early age they are excused from any obligation at home under the pretext that they study or have other activities. Everything is done for them, everything is paid for, and every whim is indulged. As a result, they reach adulthood without basic skills, expecting someone to support them. This view holds that in the past, young women helped at home as part of their upbringing, and that this tradition has been lost through a misreading of feminism.

Little princes are victims too
Against this view, an equally large current argues that boys have been raised the same way: as little princes who do nothing at home. Critics point out that parents, especially in families with an only child or with very present grandparents, have spoiled boys to the point of making them helpless. Household chores and responsibilities have faded for both sens, and the gender difference is merely an observer's bias. In fact, several analyses suggest that today it is men who most need looking after, while women have taken on a more independent role.

The trap of only children and divorced parents
A third set of arguments focuses on today's family structure. The proliferation of only children, whether by choice or because of parental separation, produces overprotected children who never learn to share, make an effort or fend for themselves. Moreover, divorced parents tend to compensate for the other parent's absence with gifts and permissiveness, creating spoiled adults who crumble at the first difficulty. This dynamic, regardless of sens, would lie behind the so-called "glass generation".

The debate makes it clear that this is not a problem exclusive to girls, but a profound shift in family upbringing, where comfort and antiestéticar of conflict have replaced discipline and responsibility. The open question is whether society is willing to reverse this trend or whether, on the contrary, it will keep fostering a generation of spoiled good-for-nothings.

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