Where do we think the little narcissists came from?

Several people have blogged in response to Dr. Domine's article about narcissistic children. Here's my two cents from the perspective of both a 20-year teacher and the father of three young children.
Here are some of the things that are different about parenting from when I was a kid:

Mandatory 100% percent attendance at all student events however minor. My Dad made what he could and I appreciated it, but he was a working man and I never expected him to re-schedule his life for me.

Scheduling "play dates" --I ran across or down the street and we played, simple as that. We weren't so self-important as to think that we had to enlist Mom as our social director.

Getting a schedule telling you when you are required to bring snacks to your kid's game-- what if I don't want my kid to have donuts and sugary juice after every sporting event? And good luck trying to be the parent who brings a veggie tray, or simply says "I'm not doing it." I've never tried that, by the way, and never would. Instead I silently lament the way we are destroying an entire generation.

Spending thousands of dollars on birthday parties (or Sweet Sixteens or whatever) held at banquet halls or restaurants. My mom baked a cake and my friends came over and played pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. In recent years I've seen first birthday parties that looked like weddings.

Spending thousands of dollars on "must-have" gadgets--why do fourth graders need cell phones? Ever watch a group of 9 year olds get together outside on a beautiful summer afternoon and ignore each other as they sit on their front lawn texting or playing games on their phones or Ipods or GameBoys? It's very sad. And since when did this kind of budget appropriation from the family funds go to children? I had four older siblings and barely ever even owned a new piece of clothing. And this is not a "poor me." I never gave it a single thought except as a reflective adult.

I could obviously go on and on, but here's the bottom line: If suffering builds character, we are raising the softest generation ever. Recent books by Tom Brokaw and Tim Russert celebrated a generation of folks who lived through a World War and a Depression. They knew sacrifice and selflessness. We are now two generations removed from them, and have forgotten the lessons of their lives. We TEACH our children (unintentionally for the most part) that they ARE the center of the universe and everything else needs to be sublimated to their wants and needs.

Why? And how did he we allow this to happen?

More to the point for this blog: The students who come before us, for all the reasons outlined above and a hundred others, are a very different breed. What do we do about it???