"Taking an interest in your child's interests can do wonders for their self-esteem and lifelong relationship with those interests. Your daughter likes Pokémon cards, but you couldn't care less? Learn what she likes about it and try to support that. It's not about Pokémon, it's about quality time and nurturing her interests. Your son likes golf, and you would rather watch paint dry? Try to do it because they love it."
"Never treating your children as adults. My girlfriend is 23 and despite being entirely independent of her family, her mom treats her like a child still. As in too immature to make her own decisions, inferior to her/not equal (she was recently told to 'learn her place'), invalid in feelings, emotions, etc. This invalidates her self-worth, her opinions, her views, and stances. It's wildly damaging and extremely toxic. She can't hold an adult conversation with her adult daughter, and it's extremely frustrating."
"Constantly pushing an intelligent or self-motivated child to work harder and harder and do 'better.' You're setting your kid up to be a perfectionist, which can be incredibly damaging to their mental health in the long run. Don't smother your kids. My mom quit having her own life the moment my brother and I were born. She was an incredibly devoted and loving mother, and very kind to us."
Taking genuine interest in a child's hobbies and activities strengthens self-esteem and fosters long-term attachment to those interests by creating quality time and emotional support. Respecting adult children’s autonomy validates their decision-making and emotional life, while treating grown offspring like children erodes confidence and fuels toxic family dynamics. Constantly pressuring high-achieving children toward ever-greater performance encourages perfectionism and increases risk for anxiety and other mental-health problems. Parents who abandon their own social and professional lives risk smothering children and modeling dependency. Balancing attentive support, clear boundaries, and a healthy parental life cultivates resilient, confident children and sustainable family relationships.
Read at BuzzFeed
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