The Shocking Truth About What Parents Are Unknowingly Teaching Their Kids—And Why It Must Stop Now
Ever notice how some of the stuff we teach our kids sounds good on paper but actually turns out to be, well… kind of a disaster? Like, who decided it was a smart idea to tell little girls that boys only bully them because they like them? Classic facepalm moment, right? Parenting is a minefield of good intentions tangled up with a few outdated myths, and sorting the golden nuggets from the nonsense is no small feat. Parents on Reddit have been spilling the tea on all the harmful lessons kids are accidentally picking up — from the “failure is bad” narrative to the passive, risk-averse mindset schools sometimes push. And trust me, some of these insights don’t just apply to the kiddos; grown-ups could use a refresh too. Curious how to swap fear for curiosity and raise resilient kiddos ready to take on the wild world? Lenore Skenazy, the queen of raising independent kids through her Free-Range Kids movement, shares her eye-opening take on breaking the passive cycle. Get comfy, because this ride through what we should stop teaching our young ones is as enlightening as it is necessary. LEARN MORE
There are so many things we wish our children would grow up knowing. However, separating the wheat from the chaff, the wisdom from the illusions is always a tough thing to do. And some things that our kids end up learning do more harm than good, don’t you think, dear Pandas?
Well, the parents of Reddit have been pitching in and sharing their takes on what harmful things are being taught to children in a viral thread over on r/AskReddit. From advice on how we should always be double-checking information to embracing failure instead of running away from it, some of these tips and tricks are spot-on and help kids grow into healthy, happy adults. (And don’t tell anyone this, but some of us adults could use a handful of these tips, too.)
Have a read through them below and upvote the ones you agree with. Got any additional tips on what things children should and shouldn’t be taught? Be sure to share your thoughts with all the other Readers in the comment section.
I reached out to Lenore Skenazy to learn more about how to overcome the passive mindset that kids are taught to embrace in school and to be actively driven by curiosity into adulthood. Lenore is the founder of the Free-Range Kids movement and the president of Let Grow, a nonprofit organization that fights overprotection, promotes independence, and makes kids ‘future-proof.’ and the founder of the Free-Range Kids movement. You’ll find her insights that she shared with Bored Panda below, dear Readers.
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Little girls get told all the time that boys are bullying them because they like them
Making children hug or kiss someone (usually a relative) that they are uncomfortable with is not good. The child may just be grumpy and or not wanting to show affection or their warning bell sensors could be going off and they do not know how to communicate that. Plus forcing them to hug/kiss sends mixed messages about personal/physical boundaries and affection itself
“When a seventh-grade teacher friend of mine asked her students—aged 12 and 13—what new things they wanted to do on their own, but were still a little hesitant to try, the responses were rather shocking to me,” Lenore, the founder of Let Grow and the Free-Range Kids movement, shared with Bored Panda.
“One kid wanted to walk the dog—but was afraid it would get off the leash. Another said he wanted to go to the store—but he’d never been inside one without his mom, and he was worried about being surrounded by strangers. A few said they wanted to take a bike ride or even climb a tree, but they were afraid of hurting themselves.”
That failure is bad. Failing should not be considered as an obstacle but a step in the learning process. Demonizing the failure and stigma associated with it makes many children lose their interest once they fail.
Ironically, the result is the opposite of what they want. “The result is not safety, it’s anxiety—kids who absorbed the message that everything is too much for them to handle. When you’re anxious, a simple slip-up doesn’t seem so simple. It seems huge—even life-threatening. How can you avoid those awful threats? That part is simple,” Lenore detailed. “You avoid doing anything.”
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