Teach them to work hard.

Well, not “hard” per se. Definitely not to the point of child labor. It’s their right to play after all. But as soon as they understand the concept of money, it’s always a good idea to teach them that if there’s an expensive toy they want, they need to work for it – save for it, do tiny chores to earn points, sell old stuff, anything. That way, they’ll take very good care of that toy when they finally have it and they’ll be more appreciative of everything the family has.

We tend to forget this. It’s so easy to give in to their every whim. It feels so great to watch their happy faces when they get new toys. So why go through all the hassle when you can obviously afford it and just hand it over to your kid? Well, most people I know, who were provided everything they wanted when they were little, ended up being spoiled, lazy, and self-entitled adults who are unbearable to live with. They also have a hard time dealing with life’s troubles.

In the real world, nobody will give us what we want. We need to chase it and sometimes spend years working for it. So hard as it may seem, I think it would be best to prepare our kids for this fact. As the popular saying goes,

Do not handicap your children by making their lives too easy.

There might be other points that I missed. What other duties would you add?