It's rather sad that this type of news rarely makes the headlines, be it in Canada or America. People really don't know how inept these organizations are.
I don't know if you've seen it, but their are parents that give in to their kids requests with children rationalizing their desire for something simply with "I want it".
I think it's more ruled by the fact that they feel they owe it to their kids or that they've fostered this need in their kids to always gratify their wants. There's less emphasis on critical thinking, which is what I think the author of the post was trying to get at.
I agree to an extent I believe that pathos is the one you don't really want to overdo with children. It's basically emotional exploitation or extortion. I would never do that to my parents out of a sense of guilt for exploiting them that way.
The overall thing is that he's teaching his kids to be critical, which is a good thing for kids to learn. But it's also important to put ground rules and let the kids know that you're the one teaching them this and to lead them on that you'd be wise to their attempts at using it on you.