Kids A health and safety column from Children's Mercy of Kansas City, Mo. Maybe that's what's worrying you. After all, this is a time of year when the emphasis seems to be on material things. But there's more to spoiling a child than the size of the Christmas bounty. In fact, it's not the things that matter at all.
Spoiled kids are manipulative, inconsiderate of others and are prone to throw temper tantrums.
Toddlerhood and pre-school years are an important time for shaping spoiled behavior, or its opposite. Problem behavior can result from breakdowns in this socialization process. Parents need to enforce consistent, age-appropriate boundaries for behavior. Sometimes parents haven't set appropriate limits. The spoiled child often isn't likable because he doesn't like or care about anybody.