Parenting can be complicated. You can do your best, but at the end of the day, your child may not turn out the way you expected them to, possibly through no fault of your own.
Miramax Films / Via giphy.com
1.
“My dad didn’t yell—he just looked tired and said, “I wanted better for you than this.” That line haunted me for years.”
Showtime / Via giphy.com
2.
“Don’t turn out like me, just look at my life son, its terrible. You are on the same path.”
3.
“‘The company you keep determines the situations you’ll be in’ i.e. if you hang out with sketchy people, you’re gonna end up in sketchy situations.”
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4.
“‘We don’t want you to turn out like us’. My parents were blue collar working class and we were constantly living paycheck-to-paycheck most of my life. Granted, I didn’t really push myself to succeed as a teen or in my 20s, and spent them partying and avoiding any shred of responsibility. I eventually settled down, started a career, got married and started a family but I did all of that shit well into my 30s; nearly 40.”
5.
“My mom told me to always be ready to support myself and whatever offspring I had because I couldn’t ever depend on someone else completely — they leave, they die or they are just assholes (her words, not mine).”
Via giphy.com
6.
“My dad had what he called the “wall of shame”. It had a lot of awards he had won for the work he had done for the city. He called it that because he was 50 years old and it had taken him this long to get his life together and making a living after being poor our whole lives. He used it as an object lesson about not pissing your life away and why getting an education was important.”
– ledlin99
7.
“‘A man’s character is known by what he does in the dark.’ Dad said that to me when I was going to visit my old high school girlfriend in a different town.”
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8.
“I didn’t like bologna sandwiches. I would get into fights at school. Mom said that in prison they only eat bologna sandwiches and since it’s prison the sandwiches are much lower quality. Never gotten into a fight since because she said next year at high school it’s very possible it can lead to prison.”
10.
“My dad didn’t yell. He just quietly said, “I’m not angry. I’m just scared for you.” The silence after that sentence was louder than any shouting match. It was the first time I realized my choices could hurt him.”
11.
“My two aunts were new teenagers and were starting to really begin acting out, getting into trouble, hanging out with the wrong crowd. So one night my grandfather loaded up all of the kids into the car and drove them an hour and a half away to the “worst” part of the inner city nearby, which had pretty bad conditions. He let them fully see the future they were heading towards if they continued to make bad decisions. He explained to them that the kids growing up there and many of the adults had no choice in their situation. But my aunts did have better opportunities, so they had better be thankful and not throw away their blessings. And that, should they choose to continue down their path or throw away what they have, he would not be supporting/enabling them with his money. None of them ever forgot that lesson. All turned into successful adults.”
HBO / Via giphy.com
12.
“This wasn’t a teen but when I was a little kid. I stole a Mighty Max, it was like Polly Pocket for boys. I was maybe six at the time, and I got caught. I expected my parents to spank me, but I was really weirded out when they sat down and had a very serious discussion with me about how it’s wrong to steal. I never stole again, and to this day I have a particularly strong revulsion for people who do.”
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