Parents Should Never

There are several things that parents should never do.

1. Do EVERYTHING for your child. If you do everything for your child, how will they ever learn? There are so many parents out there who baby their child to the fullest and when it is time for them to step out in the real world they have a tough time making it. Be there for your child by helping them learn and grow. Don’t try to keep them your baby forever.
2. Fight in front of your children. It is not healthy for your children to see or hear you fight. This should always be done away from your kids. You and your spouses problems should stay between the two of you.
3. Be your child’s friend instead of a parent. Yes it is ok to do things with your child and try to relate to them. However, you should never try to play the role of just friend to your child. You are their parent, you are their to nurture, love and guide them. Not party with them. Most people think it is perfectly fine to just be their friend, I think it is a mistake.
4. Enable them to do wrong. What I mean by this is kind of related to number one. Many times parents enable their children to do things because they want to hold on to them. So at times you see 30 year old people still living off of their parents. This is because their parents have enabled them to not do anything. They supply them with everything they need, why would the child want to leave?
5. Get too involved in their relationship. Often times parents try to get to involved in their children’s personal affairs. Their children become adults and they still butt in their business. Let your child learn and grow. Sometimes it is healthy for them to fall on their face.
6. Talk badly about the other parent. Bashing your child’s Mother or Father is rarely a good idea. You should want your child to have a good relationship with both of their parents. If one parent is out of their life, fine, but you don’t need to continually bash them.
7. Tell them they can’t do something. For example, don’t ever tell your child they won’t be successful. Don’t tell them they aren’t good at a particular sport or instrument. Children go thru a ton of phases, let them figure out what they want to do.
8. Try to put your 2 cents in about how they raise their children. When it comes time for you to be a Grandparent, it is important for you to not try and tell your kids how to raise their kids. You are the Grandparent and not the parent. Nothing is more irritating and frustrating then someone trying to tell you how to raise your own children.

This list of course could go on and on, but these stuck out in my head.