I agree with the last statement. The problem is that we live in an instant world. Fast food, drive up coffee, instant credit.
All of us (not just kids) are used to instant gratification.
There is a word going around in education (quickly losing traction, as people don't want to think about it) called "grit." Ultimately, that means sticking it through something when it isn't easy.
I find myself in agreement with Barry Maz (gotaukulele) a lot, particularly with his rant about people thinking the ukulele is easy. Compared to a guitar with six strings (often metal), ukulele can be easier to get started with--but mastery of the instrument can take a lifetime. I would imagine that even the best player in the world (probably Jake Shimibukuro) would tell you that there are things he is still working on.
Again, this is why I have my kids starting with barre chords very early--so that when we actually need a chord, we can work with it. In my experience, this generation of kids is more likely to give up when they cannot immediately need a goal, so I need to encourage them as much as possible.
To the original post author, I was just thinking about another thread where the problem was a bad ukulele set-up. I can't see back through the entire thread while writing, but since the barre chords are difficult, it might be good to make sure that the setup of the ukulele isn't the problem (strings being too high to successfully barre chords).