Learning on the Job: The 6 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make

Raising a child is not an easy job, but some educational missteps are worse than others, and that got me wondering what the biggest mistakes parents make today are. When it comes to teaching our children how to interact with the modern day world, are us adults failing at our task, or succeeding? In most cases the answer is both, because a child isn’t merely the product of his or her upbringing, but is also influenced by the social environment in which it evolves.

If you’re just waiting for your kid to be old enough for boarding school, that’s fine too – you can check out our article on the 6 best boarding schools in the world and take your pick. But if you plan on raising your little rascals at home, then take a deep breath and get ready to face a hard truth: you most likely made at least two of the biggest parenting mistakes on the following list, or will. But no worries parents, mistakes and failure are on different sides of the river…as long as you learn from your errors.

As Bill Cosby once said, “No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I’m not talking about the kids. Their behavior is always normal.” So, here’s a list of the biggest mistakes parents make and how to avoid them.

6. Fight Their Battles for Them

One of the most common mistakes that parents make is to confuse standing up for their child with overtaking their battles. Needless to say, as children grow older, they need to feel in charge of their own conflicts and battles in order to become emotionally independent. While parents oftentimes feel the need to intervene in their child’s affairs, this actually cripples their kids, making them lose their sense of conflict resolution. So, if you want your kid to be a healthy, independent adult, let them learn to fend for themselves – even if they get a few scratches, you’ll be amazed at how smart and resilient a child can be.