December brings articles galore about children and entitlement…keeping Christmas in perspective, helping kids avoid the Gimmes, battling the concept of I Am Therefore I Deserve. They’re particularly plentiful this time of year thanks to what I’ll politely call that mother****ing media push.

From the first year Toys ‘R Us put out its Christmas toy catalog to the 24 hour cartoon channels marketing this year’s Greatest Toy Ever that just might end up burning your house down (hoverboards, anyone?), the media has been peddling Christmas crack forever.  Shoot, we fell for it when we were kids, but now that we’re parents?  Not my kid, we say.  My kid’s gonna care about poor children in Africa.

No offense meant to poor children, well…everywhere else.

This generation has seen the result of boomerang parenting (no, I don’t know if that’s a thing, it just popped in my head) where permissiveness runs amok.  Young adults who never heard the word no, or kids being raised by grownups anxious to be considered friends.  The result isn’t pretty.

So now there’s this offshoot group of parents who are conscious about childrearing, which makes it sound more complicated than it is.  Basically, we’re just trying to unscrew the pooch since our parents and grandparents didn’t seem to have an issue with “entitled” children in their day.

Okay then, we’ve got the kids covered…but what about the dogs?

Disclosure:  Our family may or may not be guilty of some or all of the following.  I refuse to confirm or deny our complicity in the spoiling of our dogs.

 10 Signs Your Dogs Are Spoiled Rotten

They crawl onto your feet and collapse in Ghandi-like resistance to your leaving the house.

They bat at your arm/leg/face if you don’t pet them upon demand or if you stop petting them before they’re satisfied with your level of attentiveness.

You’re familiar with their disdainful look that screams “You expect me to pee in the rain?!”

They unapologetically steal your throw pillows, resting their heads on them to nap, covering them in dog hair and snot.

They believe it’s perfectly reasonable for you to take them along for school drop off.  Every. Single. Day.

They turn up their nose at certain treats because they’re not appealing enough, and you’d better sleep with one eye open if you bring home the generic brand.

They have an extensive wardrobe of holiday clothes and outerwear (bonus points awarded for doggy rain boots).

They own more toys than your average toddler.

They get their own steak/chicken when the family grills dinner.

They crawl up into your lap, flip themselves over, and demand a belly rub.  Then they promptly go to sleep, holding you hostage, because what could you possibly have to do that’s more important than loving on them?