Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The Worst Things A Parent Can Say To Their Child

Mother sitting on bench with two children
woman between two childrens sitting on brown wooden bench during daytime

Reddit user under20letters asked: 'What is the worst thing a parent can say to their child?'

There is not one, correct way to parent.

After all, different children have different needs, and as a result some parents might need to adopt different methods so that their children can learn a lesson.


That being said, if there isn't one right way, there is definitely one wrong way, particularly regarding what some parents might say to their children.

Even though it might not seem like it at the time, all children take in and hear everything their parents tell them.

Some things parents say to their children might have lasting consequences, haunting them for the rest of their lives.

Redditor under20letters was curious to hear people considered the absolute worst thing parents could say to their children, leading them to ask:

Most Likely The Other Way Round

"I literally heard a mother say this to her child in the ER the other day."

"The kid was just talking to his mother about the usual stupid kid sh*t and she shouted 'YOURE RUINING MY LIFE! YOU OPENING YOUR MOUTH RIGHT NOW IS RUINING MY LIFE'."

"He put his head down and said sorry."

"My mom had her bad days but she never said sh*t like that to me."- PearlJamDudeVoice

Makes You Wonder Why They Did In The First Place

"If I could do my life over I'd never have had children."- FrogGob

Hurtful At Any Age

"'I feel like I have to love you because you're my child, but I don't like you at all'."

"My mom said this to me when I was 10 years old."- ATrulyTerriblePerson

So, So Wrong

"Saying that something is wrong with your brain."- Fit-Caterpillar-9729

It's What They Don't Say...

"Nothing, blaming them, not saying I’m proud of your or I love you."- FM_Apollyon

"Absolutely nothing."

"If you don't communicate, ask about their day, if you genuinely do not care about who they are as a person, it's just as damaging as saying the most hurtful things."

"So, if you really want to hurt someone, don't acknowledge them as a human being."- EeerrEeer

"Giving them the silent treatment over some offense (real or imagined)."- kenaisourdough

So Much For It Being The Thought That Counts

"Mine said to me when I was six years old: thanks for the [in school handmade diy] Christmas gift."

"'But you know we never use xyz, so this is useless'."

"'Why would you make that?'“

"Because I didn’t have a choice, and the teacher told us to?!"

"Can’t remember what it was, but this stuck with me."

"Been anxious about gifting them anything ever since."- SnicketyLemon875

As If They Know What That Is

"'Why can't you be normal?'"- Tail_Nom

Words Of Encouragement Are Not So Difficult

“'You just ruin everything'."

"'I hope you never find happiness'."

"'Hope your in-laws make you suffer'."

"'Hope your husband cheats on you'.”- Kindly-Try-7223

Where To Even Begin

"Take your pick, I heard all of these at various points during my childhood:"

"'I put my life on hold for (insert child's age) years for you/so you could exist'."

"From mom when she wanted something from me and I didn't immediately drop everything and come running."

"You don't live in a democracy, you live in a dictatorship, so you don't get a vote'."

"From mom at a young enough age that school hadn't gone over democracies and dicatorships yet, i was probably just trying to share an idea for plans or something."

"'You'd better quit backtalking me/being disrespectful'."

"When in the right during a disagreement with either."

"'Alright, put em up then' and 'you wanna take this outside?'"

"From dad who thinks challenging his 12-13 year old son to a fistfight is the way to deal with anger."

"I'm sure there's more that i haven't unrepressed yet."- kbyyru

And That Falls On Them...

"My parents had this saying: 'children are like pancakes the first one always fails'.”

"I’m the oldest of 2."

"At first I thought they meant it as a joke but after hearing that almost weekly for the past 18 years, I think they actually mean it."- thoyo3

And They're Probably Exhausted Of Not Being Loved.

"I'm so tired of pretending to love you."

"Not mine, read it in a similar post a while back but it stuck with me."

"I can't imagine the trust issues a kid would have hearing that said to them."- nenev

Blaming Them For Everything

"My mum said so much filth to me as a kid, as well as literally making me live in it."

"For better or for worse, til about age 11, I remember hardly anything, my brain has just completely deleted it all."

"But I'll always remember when she told me that she'll die soon from me and the stress I bring her."

"When she said this to me, I was already living my dad full time and only saw her one day a week after school and went home to my dad again in the evening."

"I wasn't even a bad kid, I was so quiet and could entertain myself."

"Little me didn't deserve to hear that."- THEgingerONEhasRISEN

Make no mistake, sometimes children need discipline and need to be spoken to sternly.

But scolding only works if it comes from a place of love.

As long as there's love, children will thrive, and any child who doesn't get the love they deserve is a deprived child.


More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Sydney Sweeney
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for W Magazine

Sydney Sweeney Could Face Charges After Hanging Bras On Hollywood Sign Without Permission

Legendary and controversial showman P.T. Barnum has been credited with saying, "Any publicity is good publicity." Of course, Barnum was operating in the 1800s when he could shape the narrative and kill damaging news.

In the digital age, publicity can quickly reach a global audience. Any missteps or poor choices are out there before damage control can be done.

Keep ReadingShow less
Glenn Close; Donald Trump
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Glenn Close Offers Dire Warning To Trump Over His Regime's 'Inhumanity' In Powerful Video

Film legend Glenn Close shared her feelings on President Donald Trump and his regime's "inhumanity" in a viral video on Instagram, saying she felt "compelled" to speak out in the wake of the murder of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents on Saturday in Minneapolis.

Close—best known for starring in such classics as Fatal Attraction and who recently received raves for her work on Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery—condemned the "cold-blooded murder of American citizens" and warned Trump that "there will be hell to pay" as more and more people rise up against his leadership.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; JD Vance; Tom Cotton
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom Epically Rips JD Vance And MAGA Senator Over Their Hot Takes On Minneapolis Shootings

California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized Vice President JD Vance and Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton after they both posted heartless remarks about the recent killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

Earlier this month, ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Good in her car. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed Good “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Kristi Noem
Andres Kudacki/Getty Images; Al Drago/Getty Images

AOC Goes Nuclear On Kristi Noem For Suggesting That Protesters Who Show Up With Firearms Deserve To Die

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's hypocrisy after Noem responded to the murder of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis by claiming that protesters who show up with firearms aren't "peaceful."

Calls for an investigation have intensified from across the political spectrum after analysis of multiple videos showed ICE officers removing a handgun from Pretti—whom authorities said was permitted to carry but was not handling—before fatally shooting him.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Strangest Health Conditions They've Ever Experienced

The human body is complicated, fascinating, and sometimes difficult to explain.

While we know that, it's incredibly unnerving when we have a symptom that even our doctors struggle to explain or identify.

Keep ReadingShow less