3 ms·

You left out the most important step: make sure kids understand the reason for those rules (other than "because I say so"). Speaking from my experience with my

You left out the most important step: make sure kids understand the reason for those rules (other than "because I say so"). Speaking from my experience with my parents, yours is a great recipe for having your kids think you're an asshole when they're older.

gyardley 14y ago
I don't think my parents are assholes. Sure, I did when I was a teenager, but that's because I was egocentric and had poor impulse control - in short, a teenager. Thank god my parents were doing their job instead of trying to be my buddy.
- Karunamon 14y ago
  Because explaining a reason to teenagers (who despite having a lot of bluster, are usually fairly bright) is somehow asking too much. You use terms like "because I said so" with a 2 year old who literally can't understand why you shouldn't play in the street. Don't insult other people's intelligence, much less your kid's. There's no excuse for that.
  - abstractbill 14y ago
    Agreed, but... Funnily enough, my 2 year old understands exactly why she shouldn't play in the street; Every time we go for a walk around the block and a car passes us, she tells us all "look out for that car, it might hit us!". And then again, I know plenty of other 2 year olds who can barely talk, let alone say something like that. And then I know 2 year olds who have dexterity and body awareness that makes my daughter look like she's walking around with a blindfold and her arms tied together. If being a parent has taught me anything, it's that kids are just incredibly different from each other. Oh, that, and that nothing good can ever come of a parenting thread on Hacker News ;) So many strongly held opinions from such small samples (often zero!).
    - Evbn 14y ago
      Kids are also like the parrots, though. They can say things they don't understand.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
kmfrk 14y ago
Another important lesson: obey the same rules. Nothing is more infuriating than parents setting rules that only apply to their children for arbitrary reasons.

gyardley 14y ago

I don't think my parents are assholes. Sure, I did when I was a teenager, but that's because I was egocentric and had poor impulse control - in short, a teenager. Thank god my parents were doing their job instead of trying to be my buddy.

Karunamon 14y ago
Because explaining a reason to teenagers (who despite having a lot of bluster, are usually fairly bright) is somehow asking too much. You use terms like "because I said so" with a 2 year old who literally can't understand why you shouldn't play in the street. Don't insult other people's intelligence, much less your kid's. There's no excuse for that.
- abstractbill 14y ago
  Agreed, but... Funnily enough, my 2 year old understands exactly why she shouldn't play in the street; Every time we go for a walk around the block and a car passes us, she tells us all "look out for that car, it might hit us!". And then again, I know plenty of other 2 year olds who can barely talk, let alone say something like that. And then I know 2 year olds who have dexterity and body awareness that makes my daughter look like she's walking around with a blindfold and her arms tied together. If being a parent has taught me anything, it's that kids are just incredibly different from each other. Oh, that, and that nothing good can ever come of a parenting thread on Hacker News ;) So many strongly held opinions from such small samples (often zero!).
  - Evbn 14y ago
    Kids are also like the parrots, though. They can say things they don't understand.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

kmfrk 14y ago

Another important lesson: obey the same rules. Nothing is more infuriating than parents setting rules that only apply to their children for arbitrary reasons.