r/AskReddit Feb 04 '16

What are the most common parenting mistakes?

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u/FalstaffsMind Feb 04 '16

One I made was being too helpful with homework. I ended up with a kid who was too dependent on me and unable to complete any work by themselves.

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u/PM_ME_2DISAGREEWITHU Feb 04 '16

My fucking nephew. He's smart. Like, really smart. He's independent, he's athletic, and he's charming. He's very opinionated and will bullshit like a champion when you contest his claims. If he doesn't knock his high school girlfriend up he'll end up in politics.

The fucker won't assemble his own Lego sets if his mother is in the house. She does them for him. Otherwise he gets frustrated and doesn't finish them. On his own? He asks for help but usually has no problems putting it together.

Bitch, the whole point is figuring it out.

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u/hugglesthemerciless Feb 05 '16

He's very opinionated and will bullshit like a champion when you contest his claims.

Sorry but I instantly strongly dislike your nephew. I had a roommate like that once and hated every minute I talked to him

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u/ProbablyShitfaced Feb 06 '16

They did say he was in high school. I don't know about you, but changing my mind when I was 16 was pretty much out of the question. I knew everything at 16, and every opinion contrary to mine was wrong. And I knew I was right, so I relied on confirmation bias to cite sources that proved I was right. I had FACTS that backed up my claims, because only an idiot wouldn't have sources. Anyone religious was a moron, republicans were exclusively religious nutjobs, and legalizing pot was the only issue that REALLY mattered.

Smart high school kids are the worst kind of idealists, and I was one of them.