Six parenting tips from your dad who got by on absolutely minimal input
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Loading... - Coby Groff
- 01 Feb 2023
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Your father has so much to teach you about child-raising, even though he was largely at work, in the garage or out at a hardware store. Here’s how he nailed parenthood:
‘Relax – they’re just kids’
Said when your delinquent children have refused all offers of food, sleep or phone games, this advice is both infuriating and revealing. Decades of distance from the reality of parenting, which for him was only ever a playfight every second Saturday, means he’s just as disengaged as he was then.
‘You can’t let them get away with things’
As driven by whim as a child himself, your father’s tolerance for challenging behaviour depends on his mood, how many whiskies he’s had and how well he parked the car this week. One minute they’re ‘only young once’ and the next he’s discussing the benefits of corporal punishment and military academies.
‘You never did this’
Not advice, but a phrase spoken enigmatically when your children are demonstrating your failings as a parent. Learning your child’s behaviour is aberrant even by the standards of your dysfunctional family is unhelpful and inaccurate as your father has no real clue about anything you’ve ever done, aside from the big events for which he took the photos. Read More…
