Parenting is crazy hard. I mean there are just so many ways to mess a kid up. Right? Speaking from personal experience, I'm pretty messed up myself and yes I do blame some of that on the parenting I received. So how does a messed up kid or a not so messed up kid who grows up to have kids of her own avoid messing up her kids?
I can't tell you how to be perfect because I don't know how, but I can tell you a few things that no parent should do. Yup, I'm gonna go with a universal ban on these parenting no-nos and by universal I mean in the USA because I realize that in some countries you don't get the freedoms that we get here, but you know what I mean, I'm sure.
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Here are six things parents need to stop doing to their kids:
1. Treating your child like an adult. Your child is a child that is why they are in your care and not working 40 hours a week at the coal mine. Don't expect them to act or react like an adult and try your best not to burden them with adult problems.
2. Telling girls what they can't do. By that I mean telling a girl she can't do something simply because she is a girl. Get with it parents, those are your antiquated hang ups and your child does not have to be limited by them.
3. Telling boys what they can't do. Boys get boxed in too and it's not cool. They are allowed to cry and have feelings, they are allowed to play dress up, they are allowed to be complete human beings, not some macho stereotype. Like I said before, get with it parents, those are your antiquated hang ups and your child does not have to be limited by them.
4. Forcing your kid to have one more bite. Do we really need another generation of over-eaters, who can't leave any food on their plate even when they are stuffed? If your kids says they are full, maybe they are actually full. Not to mention that starving kids in Africa will not stop starving if your kid has one more bite. I checked.
5. Telling them to do differently than you do. Don't tell your kid not to smoke if you are a smoker. Don't tell your kid not to f@*!ing curse as you are cursing. Just don't, you know better than that. Stop effin' smokin' so you can tell your kid what to do and have a chance that they may actually listen.
6. Making them think that failing is the worst thing ever. I'm not saying that failing is awesome, nor am I suggesting that you tell your kids that failing subjects in school is a good thing. I'm talking about letting them deal with the failure that comes from trying. Maybe they audition for a school play and don't get cast. It's okay, let them. They will hurt, they will get over it and then they can try again.
That's all the parenting don'ts that I have for now. I'm sure I will discover many more on this challenging parenting journey I'm on.
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