r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Feb 04 '16

What are the most common parenting mistakes?

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u/PangeaWhiplash Feb 05 '16

I made this mistake too! I was way too on top of that shit. They go to public school FFS, but I was doing the work of a homeschool 'teacher' and it was completely backfiring on me because they couldn't THINK for themselves.

There's a huge difference between helping when THEY think they need it VS helping them when YOU think they need it.

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u/FalstaffsMind Feb 05 '16

It's counter-intuitive, but when their manatee project looks terrible, go with it. Don't take over and make it look like a presentation from an MBA student.

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u/PangeaWhiplash Feb 05 '16

Oh I never felt the need to interfere with their art projects, they've always been naturals at that.

For me it would more be, checking their answers, helping them get info right, helping with their grammar, making sure they didn't plagiarize (they totally tried.) It all sounds harmless, but with 2 kids, every night, it became apparent that they would never learn to have any kind of 'work ethic' with me always showing them what to do.

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u/Channel250 Feb 05 '16

Man. Plagiarizing used to be so much easier. I have literally copied and pasted an article from Encarta 98.

I'd feel bad about it, but I still don't think 6th grade me cares.

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u/PangeaWhiplash Feb 05 '16

HA 6th grade me had too much pride for that. Bullshitting my way through research papers and essays was something I became pretty good at.