Parents Who Have Bad Relationships With Their Kids Usually Make These 15 Mistakes Unknowingly

Every parent is going to make mistakes. Because you don’t know it was a mistake until after it’s done, there’s no way to prevent all mistakes. Even if you’ve seen something work well with one child, doing the same thing with another child could be a mistake. There are a lot of mistakes parents have no idea at the moment that they’re making.

Overindulgence

While you may be making your child happy at the time by indulging in their every wish, the long-term effects can be terrible. Growing up and believing they’re entitled to everything won’t serve them as adults. It’s a recipe for creating jerks.

Over-Protective Parenting

If you never let your child solve problems on their own, they’ll never learn to take care of themselves. Hovering around and fixing everything can impede a child’s growth as a person.

Not Actively Listening to a Child

Children want to feel heard. It’s highly important to listen to them and validate their feelings when appropriate. When a child doesn’t feel heard, they feel unimportant and may lash out.

Preventing Any Struggling

It’s hard to watch your child struggle with something, but it’s necessary for their development. Without having room to struggle and problem-solve, children may eventually have their parents calling their college professors to solve problems. Yes, this happens.

Letting the Child Be in Charge

Some parents let their children run everything, deciding everything from what’s for dinner to where they’re going that day. As a parent, you need to be an authority figure. It’s up to you to decide what they eat and where they go.

Acting Perfect

Many parents strive to set a good example, and that’s an important thing to do. However, pretending that you’re perfect and never make mistakes only makes a child feel inferior to their parents.

Never Apologizing

Every parent makes mistakes, and it’s good for children to know that anyone can make them. If you’re honest and apologetic about making a mistake, they are more likely to own their own mistakes.

Making an Older Child a Parent

When you have multiple children, it often seems like it’s great to have the help of the oldest child. However, this can cause those children to miss out on key aspects of their childhood and force them into a lot of responsibility too early.

Not Encouraging Dreams

If your child has dreams or aspirations, you need to take them seriously. Sure, they may change over time, but you can take the next one seriously as well. It’s an important part of knowing and nurturing your child.

Being Friends With Your Child

Once a child is grown, the relationship may settle into something like a friendship. While kids are minors, however, being their friend means they don’t have a parental figure. This can make them feel unsafe.

Dismissing Their Mental Health

If a child is having a mental health problem, that’s the time to get them help. It’s important to pay attention to these problems and let a child know that there are ways to feel better.

Not Teaching a Good Work Ethic

Everyone knows a lazy, titled adult who never wants to work. To avoid raising that kind of person, start instilling a work ethic early. Kids need chores and to have a small amount of responsibility.

Not Enforcing Rules

There are rules in place for a reason, and children need to know that there are consequences if those rules are broken. A rule without a consequence isn’t a rule at all.

Not Teaching Them About Money

Not having an understanding of money and the skill to handle it can cause a lot of problems when adulthood comes. Parents should talk to their kids about money regularly and make sure they have a basic understanding of how it’s used.

Living Vicariously Through Their Kids

Many parents push their children into doing things that would have made the parents’ childhoods better. They try to live their dreams through their kids. This puts too much pressure on kids, and it doesn’t help them from discovering their interests.