Sometimes parents do or say things that affect their children, down the line. These kids, that are now adults, are realizing what is important in having a healthy and happy household. They know exactly what NOT to do!
Unsafe Car Rides
Shutterstock/Zurijeta
“My parents would take us for rides on the hood–or even the roof–of the car. All around the neighborhood. Hold on! Here we go!”
Potential Crush Embarassment
Shutterstock/Monkey Business Images
“One time I was having a conversation with my mother about a friend of mine who happened to be a girl. My mother took this to mean that I had a major crush. Girl and I practically ended our friendship right then and there – thanks, Mom, for blabbing your lies to all your friends! – and we were uncomfortable around each other for years. Thank heaven for graduating high school.”
Manipulation Of Gratitude
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“I will do things WITH my kids, not just FOR my kids. And if they complain about me not spending time with them, I won’t yell at them about all the things I BOUGHT them, to rationalize it.”
Avoiding Finances
Shutterstock/Gladskikh Tatiana
“My parents never, EVER, talked about money/bills/finances in order to keep us, kids, from worrying. And because of this, I ended up financially illiterate, when I left home, with no idea how much anything cost. Is $100 a month a lot for a phone bill? A good deal? How much is a week’s worth of groceries? I made a lot of avoidable mistakes.”
Teasing The Motivated?
Shutterstock/Ollyy
“I refuse to tease my kids over their work habits and personality. I was extremely introverted growing up and the opposite of athletic; I was also really into computers. So I spent a lot of time in my room, which came off as lazy. Also doesn’t help that I’m also not the neatest. But anytime I would do any work without being told, my dad would always tease me saying ‘wow it must be snowing in hell’ and things like that. Nothing takes away any motivation to do anything than knowing that when you do, you’re just going to be teased.”
Tracking Your Kids
Shutterstock/chainarong06
“Will not put a tracker on my kids ‘for their safety’ and then ground them when the tracker kills their phone battery and doesn’t work anymore.”
Not Following The Actual Recipe
Shutterstock/Dragon Images
“Never going to substitute recipe ingredients with the worst substitutes (mashed frozen home-grown tomatoes instead of tomato paste etc). Almost everything tasted borderline inedible and looked worse – of course my parents proclaimed it was delicious, but it definitely wasn’t. I stick to the recipe (it’s like science!) and actually make nice tasting, nice looking meals.”
Painful Roadtrips
Shutterstock/Olena Yakobchuk
“I won’t complain about how long car rides take and generally get antsy and impatient during travel. If you do it right, the journey can be a fun part of the experience.”
Neglecting Medical Issues
Shutterstock/George Rudy
“Not going to be ignoring any kind of medical problems my children complain about. I had to go through nearly two years of severe insomnia before they even considered taking me to a doctor, and that’s because I threatened them with running away if the didn’t.”
Getting A DUI
Shutterstock/Zerbor
“My father, the first time he caught me drinking, sat me down and gave me the talk. Not about drinking, but about drinking and driving. I found out that before I was born, he got a DUI about 2 minutes driving away from our house. Not only was he barely over the limit, but he was also extremely close to getting home. Because of this, he did the right thing (I think) and came and picked me and friends up from parties multiple times instead of one of us driving. I think that’s definitely the safer option for it all. But, I will never get a DUI like my father. I don’t drink and drive, and I try to make sure that none of my friends ever do either.”
Too Many Kids
Shutterstock/Pavel L Photo and Video
“I will NEVER have 11 kids. Definitely not doing that!”
Failing To Teach Vital Skills
Shutterstock/Monkey Business Images
“I won’t NOT teach my children how to do things. My parents believed that since I did well in school I did not have to mow the lawn or do basic chores like laundry and cooking. Once I left the house I realized I didn’t know how to do anything remotely useful.”
Doorbell From Hell
Shutterstock/Foremostplus
“My parents put a doorbell in my BEDROOM because they were too lazy to call down the stairs. They rang it from the kitchen if they wanted me. That chime still haunts me in my sleep!”
Obsessive Anger Problems
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“I won’t explode at every little mistake and minor inconvenience. My mom has anger issues and it rubbed off on me. For a number of years I hated her and couldn’t control my anger, because I was raised to freak out at everything. Thankfully, I realized it wasn’t healthy and now I’m pretty chill about everything.”