There’s the myth that there’s no such thing as a bad parent. After all, we’re all learning on the job. Not true! Sorry to burst your bubble but bad parenting exists…
We’re all TRYING our best at this parenting gig, or are we?
Bad parenting moments can creep into our everyday interactions with our kids and before you know it, we’re feeling quite sh*t about our bad parenting habits. But hey, don’t get us wrong, we’re not trying to trivialise something as fundamentally dysfunctional as bad parenting.
If you recognise any of these bad parenting traits you can totally turn them around! Unless you let your kids stick their tongue in the electric beaters while they were plugged in. That’s a little trickier!
Bad Parenting Tendencies to Watch out for
1. Setting a BAD example
Y’all know what they say, you reap what you sow. If you’re spending your weekends sitting around chain-smoking, guzzling goon bags and swearing like a sailor, you might be having a helluva good time but can kind of expect your kids to ultimately do the same. Monkey see, monkey do…
2. Showing favouritism
It’s a running joke in many families that there’s a “trophy child“. An untouchable child who never gets into strife, is held up on a pedestal and can do no wrong. Seriously though, don’t have favourites and MOST DEFINITELY do not tell any of your children that they’re your favourite. This is basic bad parenting 101. Cripes.
3. You’re TOO involved
Tricky. You thought you were doing the right thing by rescuing your kid from that other rude kid at the playground. Or maybe you find yourself acting like the assistant coach at the footy on Saturday, yelling out instructions to your kid from the sidelines. Either way, quit the rescue mission. Kids need to learn how to HELP THEMSELVES.
4. You make everything about you
Teacher: “Little Johnny is so good at reading!”
You: “Oh that HAS to be because I was reading novels in kindy and also read the Encyclopaedia Britannica throughout my pregnancy…”
Calm down Susan, the kid just loves to read. It’s not about YOU. #badparenting
5. Negligence
When turning a blind eye becomes just being TOTALLY BLIND you know you need to get a grip. Letting your kids play on the kitchen bench with the knife block while you Snapchat your mates because the light is JUST RIGHT is never a good idea. You might not need a filter, but you will need Bandaids. You get my drift… don’t be a d*ck.
6. Ignoring your kid
Silence is bliss, right? Except it’s apparently not. If you just plain ignore your child, that’s bad parenting. Tempting as it is to let them be quiet and sit on a screen for 12 hours of the day in their room, yeah but nah, it’s not the RIGHT thing to do, damn it. Let them see some sunlight and involve them in family activities for good measure.
7. You want to be your kid’s BFF
Bad parenting often begins with parents wanting to be the good guys. The fun mum with no rules or boundaries. The dad that never says no. Parents shouldn’t try to be their kid’s BFF. That’s what school is for mums and dads. Kids don’t need a friend in you, they need you to parent. See, the harsh truth is, they don’t want YOU to be their BFFs. #socringe
8. You have a yelly, sweary, rude and obnoxious child
So lucky! It’s not luck of the draw if your child is often yelly, sweary, rude, lacks manners and does what the f**k they want, when they want. Nup, chances are his (or her) behaviour is simply a reflection of yours. In which case, refer to point 1.
No one wants their kid to be that kid, so put an end to end to any bad parenting, PULL YOUR SOCKS UP and play nice. They’ll soon stop teaching the neighbourhood kids ALL the foul language. Fingers crossed. And they’ll probably (read: hopefully) start to show you more respect.
Just to make us all feel a bit better about ourselves, good or bad parenting aside, here’s Parenting Summed up in 16 Hilariously Accurate Photos. Go on, we dare you not to have a giggle!
