PARENTS OF NOWADAYS

1. They don't tell their kids the truth when kids ask questions. They make up stories about santa and easter bunnies etc. I think more attention need to be paid to help kids develop a sense of logic and how to weigh up evidence. Helping them tell between a made up story and fact, a belief versus a theory etc. just all vital to healthy brain development!

2. Helping kids understand not just what the rules are (at school, in society etc) but the reasons for those rules. So they look behind authority, can question things presented to them, and are less likely to be blind followers. Giving them confidence to stand out, to disagree, and even disobey bad rules and see the bigger picture. Too many rules create too many blindly following sheep.

3. Empowering kids to say no and stand up for themselves, that they are in charge of their bodies - they don't have to hug or sit on anyones knee. They don't have to be polite to assholes or accept unexceptabe behaviour from adults. They can speak up when uncomfortable and tell a grown up no. Both for safety and basic self esteem/ego development. Not talking about raising rude kids, but kids who understand what 'consent is' (so they are protected against people taking advantage) and that also deserve respect.Forcing their children to be carbon copies of themselves, stifling their individual personalities. Let me give you an example - I have an acquaintance who does not like animals. For some reason or other, he simply dislikes them (no, not the smell or mess they make. He has a personal dislike for animals).

As such, his wife and 9 year old son are NOT allowed to have a pet, not even a goldfish or a hamster. (I don't know why a grown woman would need permission from her husband to have a pet, but this is a traditional Asian household, so the man has full say about the household decisions)

Now the man's son's birthday is coming up. He says he wants to make it the BEST birthday EVER for his son. So he will take the boy to the handphone shop and buy him ANY handphone model he wants. He believes that the son must be so excited. Now, bear in mind the son has been begging for a puppy for a very long time. The father always replies with the same thing: "No pets. I don't like animals." The father simply refuses to acknowledge that what the son really would like is a furry pet like a guinea pig, hamster, or a puppy. Maybe he could compromise and get him a small mammal. He could make it very clear that if the son doesn't look after it, he will just give it away. Instead, the selfish man projects HIS reality on to his son (since HE likes technology), and tells himself that because HE wants a high-tech handphone, his 10 year old son must also want it. If he doesn't like animals, his son