Lament of the Mind

PSA: Parents. Please do not emotionally manipulate your children.

twisted-pine:

They will grow up completely untrusting with a general sense of sadness and guilt.

Manipulation includes:

- “I just wish [something passive aggressive involving your child]”

- “You do whatever you want to do.” and then getting mad when they make the “wrong” choice

- Not believing them when they tell you something someone did or said to them, including their friends, your friends, family members, or even you

- Doing something shitty and then pretending you didn’t in hopes they’ll forget?

- Getting upset when they open up to you. About anything. Even if it’s something angering or disappointing. Don’t show them it’s dangerous or counterproductive to talk to you.

- Making them feel bad for the friends/significant others they choose, career path (or lack thereof), school choice (or lack thereof), gender/sexuality (or lack thereof) literally anything that either they didn’t choose or that they would be miserable without

- Do NOT EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES pressure them to talk to you about personal things.

- Kids do not owe their parents anything. They did not choose to be born. You chose to get pregnant/chose to carry to term/chose to raise a baby (even if you didn’t choose all of these things, you at least chose one) under the assumption that you would love this child no matter what.

This is basically a how-to list of emotional abuse. (That, oddly enough, was followed to the letter in my case…)

Parents, for the love of…everything, don’t do these things to your child.