22 Things That Parents Do That Cause More Harm Than Good
It seems there are new parenting trends every day. And everyone has the same idea: to do a better job than their own folks did.
However, some parenting trends do nothing but create little monsters. If you want to raise your kid right, or just enjoy the trainwreck, here are the stupidest trends in parenting.
1.
Denying your kid any negative experiences or emotions.
They are a normal part of being a person, teach them to handle negative emotions now before you send them out into a world they are not prepared to handle.-/uIAmRules
2.
Pretending that not parenting is parenting. 'I won't tell my child to stop kicking your leg repeatedly because I don't want to crush his spirit!'-u/StoicDonkey
3.
I don’t know how much of a trend it was but I’m TikTok there was a trend of parents throwing away their kid's art in front of them and the parents would, like, laugh while the kid was sobbing. That’s f*cked up! Of course, you can’t keep every artwork your kid makes but you throw it away when they aren’t home or asleep. My mom used to wait until I was asleep and throw it away in the outside can The kids I babysit their parents ask me to take their art they do with me so it doesn’t pile up but I tell them I’m keeping it because it’s so goodThere’s no reason to make your kid feel like they aren’t a good artist or just feel like their parents don’t care for some TikTok views -u/weston200
4.
Fake “Gentle Parenting” You hear and see so many parents letting their children do whatever they want, no matter how destructive, rude or hurtful their behaviors are. Parents find themselves beholden to the whims of their children's emotions in the name of gentle parenting, instead of true gentle parenting where (so I hear) boundaries are set alongside validating emotions.-u/canadainuk
5.
Not setting clear boundaries. You are the adult, not the kid. Children benefit sooo much more from clear rules and consequences.-u/NorthWeight3580
6.
The “bulldozer” parent - ie the parent who removes all obstacles/challenges from a child’s life so they don’t learn about perseverance, problem-solving, failure (sometimes you can try hard and still not get the reward) and learning from mistakes - unless the goal is to develop a highly anxious person - then, being a bulldozer parent is great.-u/spinefexmouse
7.
That thing where they pretend they got their kids a PS5 for example, the kids are freaking out with excitement, but then it's just a PS5 box filled with books or something.-u/MacyTmcterry
9.
Not saying no to your child. They have to learn to deal with a no sometimes, and having a chat about why it is no and whether it could be a yes another time is also an important part of them learning to deal with no.-u/coocoorookoo121
10.
Nonstop supervision. Hovering over them at every turn. Whatever happened to tossing them in a play area in another room and letting them create, explore, and get the occasional bumps?-u/ansibley
11.
Not believing the teacher ever. “My kid never lies to me”.Seriously. Parents absolutely should be their kid’s biggest supporter. But support sometimes means holding the kid responsible when they don’t do the right thing.-u/jdith123
12.
Parents who punish their kids for speaking up or otherwise explaining something, saying that they're "talking back". I honestly don't get why most parents refuse to admit they're not always right sometimes. Besides, what if their kid one day comes up to them and says another adult is touching them inappropriately?-u/EntryRepresentative5
14.
Pushing them too hard in sports, academics, etc. Like pushing til they need therapy or get injured, no free time, no downtime. FFS, they only get to be young & without excessive responsibilities once.-u/Oh-Oh-Ophelia
16.
Parents incorporating personal wellness buzzwords into their excuses for being neglectful and sometimes even abusive to their kids. Like "I shouldn't have to owe my own time and money to somebody whose behavior just isn't contributing to my happiness and positive energy blah blah blah they're exploiting the legal and societal pressures on—" sir that is a fourteen-year-old you literally chose to raise and no amount of talking like a self-help book will change that, grow up.-u/dumbest_thotticus
17.
Making your child terrified to fail. I remember constantly being told if I ever even got a “C” or below— on even something as minor as a pop quiz— I would be “flipping burgers for a living.” I was so unmotivated to even try by the time high school came, because it had been drilled into me that I was destined to be a loser.-u/ShitStuckInYourTeeth
18.
Starting a kid in a single sport from an early age and making that their whole life for some godd*mn reason-u/AsteroidTicker
19.
Letting your kids run amok everywhere and then being furious when other people are annoyed. I'm an older mom. I was raised with the idea that you have a social contract with others to not be a pain in the ass. I don't let my kids go nuts in public. When they are having a hard time, we leave. I don't expect them to be angels for hours in adult situations, but being told to not be loud and crazy at the grocery or in line somewhere is not child abuse. Letting your kids be a hellion that everyone else cringes to see is so unfair to your kids.-u/beckybrothers
20.
Talking down to kids and making them feel stupid. Sure maybe at 5, they aren't the most intellectual people, but 9/10-year-olds are smarter than people give them credit for. Don't talk to them like they are stupid because they are not. The only thing that does is lower their self-esteem and makes them feel small.-u/_ManWhoSoldTheWorld_
21.
Making your kids spend time with family even though they get treated badly. Like inlaws who would rather spend time with their other grandkids and not yours.-u/Caligirl0310
22.
One is late potty training. Waiting to potty train a child is more and more common. Which I generally agree with. Wait until they’re 2.5-3 and knock it out. Some take longer, some are probably ready earlier. Better than rushing it and causing issues. What this has turned into. Not potty training. I nanny a 4-year old that is still in pull-ups. She is more than capable of using the potty. Our 4-year-old classroom just installed a diaper genie because so many 4-year-olds are starting preschool in diapers.My best friend who is a Kindergarten teacher had 2 kids start kindergarten in diapers. Luckily they’re potty trained now.-u/cleaning-meaning
23.
Creating social media channels for your children where they proceed to upload videos and photos of their kids. Perfect place for pedophiles.-u/AJSK18
24.
When I was a teenager my parents took away the door to my room. It's normal for teenagers to pull away from their parents, I guess this wasn't acceptable to her and she wanted to keep an eye on me at all times.I still have severe issues relating back to this one action. This is after years of therapy and no contact. To anyone considering this as some form of "punishment", Let me stop you right there. Nothing will get your child to disown you faster than not giving them privacy.-u/Gabriel_Godot
25.
Allowing kids to constantly mess with pets, even when the pet is giving warnings that they'll attack soon. Parents, this is a pretty solid way to start teaching kids about consent from the get-go-u/Decoupagetheworld
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