This story has raised a very important topic about how to treat our children properly ..

It seems to me that an important consideration related to the ways in which we treat our children involves the inexplicable notion held by many parents that without punitive discipline, kids will become those dreaded 'spoiled brats'. And there it is, the term that serves to strike fear in the hearts of so many parents.

Probably the most common definition associated with spoiling children involves an idea that sees 'parents giving their kids whatever they want'. Unfortunately, many parents are under the impression that this parents-giving-them-whatever-they-want concept refers to the physical needs and desires of children. On the other hand, some of these same parents tend to become very unclear when it comes to defining the emotional criteria for spoiling kids.

I recently heard a prominent basketball coach in an interview on TV say that although he was sitting on a pile of money, he wasn't going to leave any of it to his children because it would just spoil them and ruin their lives. I know I'm citing an extreme example here to make my point, but this misguided man is a victim of society's myth about spoiling children. To this coach, cutting his kids out of his will is an act of love, strange as that may seem.