A Letter to Parents

Dear Parents,

I know that I am only a teenager and have not yet had any children, but I have been a child and have seen and heard things that other parents do. From personal experiences, I have found out that many parents don't know how to raise children well. While you may think that you are helping your child, chances are, you are just hindering them later on in life.

1. Don't be a helicopter parent.

These are the types of parents that I have seen most often. While you may be helping them out right now by shielding them from all of life's discomforts, you won't be able to keep that up forever. Your children will grow to hate how controlling of them you are, when it is time for them to go off to college, you will be emotonally crushed, and when they are far away from you your children will probably do everything that they couldn't do at home such as drink and do drugs.

2. Don't be the parents that don't care about their children.

These are the most uncommon parents but they still exist. While you shouldn't be a helicopter parent shielding your kids from everything, you should also not be a parent that lets your kids do whatever they want. Don't be the parent that forgets about their child in the mall or doesn't notice when they haven't been at home for the past week. Without a support system for your child, your kid will most likely end up doing drugs, drinking, hating you, and possibly finding you so useless that they kill you for fun or to try and get some reaction out of you.

3. Don't give in to everything that your child wants.

One of your jobs as a parent is to prepare your child for the real world. In the real world, if your child wants something, they will have to get it for themselves. This needs to start from an early age. it is fine to get him something every once in a while but don't go out of your way just to get them something that they can easily get for themselves. I hear about parents that give in to their children all the time from my mom who works in a preschool. They are always the ones that have the hardest time adjusting to being independant which you don't want if you ever want your kid to leave home and have a good life.

4. Don't worry about what they will think about you all of the time.

You are their parent, not their friend. That being said, you shouldn't just do things without thinking of how they feel but at the end of the day, you need to raise them properly and teach them what is right and wrong. You need to teach them manners and punish them if they do something wrong. they may say that they hate you or something just s devistating, but they really do love you and need you to be there for them and help them.

5. Make sure that you are there for them if they need you.

Just be there for them when something bad happens in their life. It is very nice to be able to to talk to someone and just be able to let out all of your emotions.