People Break Down What They Learned From Their First Relationship
Reddit user Frero_s asked: 'What did you learn from your first relationship?'
Every love story, good or bad, has a lesson embedded in it.
And just like life in general, love always comes full circle.
We all end up back at the beginning.
My first relationship left enough scars for my therapist to send her her kids to college.
There is always a takeaway.
Too often, we ignore them.
If you haven't already, go back and dig a little deeper.
Redditor Frero_s wanted to discuss all the lessons they learned from the people they dated in the beginning, so they asked:
"What did you learn from your first relationship?"
My first love taught me to watch out for love.
Next to Godliness
snow white cleaning GIFGiphy"Compatibility with household cleanliness and organization habits is far more important than you think. Relationships where one partner cares a lot more about the household than the other will result in both parties resenting each other."
EdgyGoose
Firsts
“'When someone shows you who they are, believe them, the first time.' -Maya Angelou, several years after I learned that lesson the hard way, but I could never phrase it better."
"Going hand in hand with that, you can’t fix someone else, especially someone who’s given up on themselves. You can only put that kind of energy and effort into yourself and expect to see returns. That one took me a couple or three ill-advised relationships, truthfully."
Some_Specialist_5052
The One
"You're going to get your heart broken sometimes. That my friends is life."
MrDadBod
"I prefer to think that most relationships will end, but that doesn’t make them failures. You can learn things and grow as a person in many relationships, even ones that end poorly."
"You can make mistakes by staying in them too long, ending them too soon, treating your partner badly, or allowing yourself to be treated badly, but calling them failures is such a limited perspective. Most people that find 'the one' probably would have 'failed' in that relationship if they had no prior relationships to learn from."
whomeverwiz
Not Enough
"It's not enough to love someone; the way that love is expressed matters a lot. For a great relationship, you have to love your partner in the way they need to be loved."
NoodleWeird
"And this takes practice too! Patience at the beginning of a relationship is important. Don't just assume you know each other from the inside out in the beginning, and take time to understand where each person is coming from."
ChimkenFinger
"That's the principle of the Five Love Languages. Do and say the things of the love language your partner most connects to."
LucidWebMarketing
Let it Go
let it go GIFGiphy"That some people aren’t meant for you. Don’t wait for them to be somebody they aren’t and don’t try to change them to fit what you want them to be."
Elegant-Vehicle7314
The only change we can focus on is our own.
As a couple, it's about changing together.
Otherwise move on.
Lies
Three Little Pigs Wow GIF by LaffGiphy"Sometimes the words 'I love you' don’t actually mean much when the person saying them doesn’t believe in those words anymore."
GodofWar1234
Perfect
"Well, I didn't have my first relationship until I was 30 which ended up in marriage and eventually divorce. The biggest lesson I took from it was that waiting for that 'perfect' person was a complete waste of time. I had a very difficult time dating when I was younger. I put too much pressure on each date for it to be something special."
"The marriage taught me that I could actually be desirable and gave me confidence going forward. The divorce, on the other hand, made me a much more guarded and uncaring person. Turns out the uncaring part made it easier to go on dates (less anxiety) but harder for them to mean anything later on."
Boromn
Thank you, Katie...
"Make your own decisions about what you want out of life your instead of those that line up with what she wants out of her life."
"Almost followed a girl to Portland, OR, and took a job I didn't really want because I wanted to make 'us' work. So happy she cared enough about me to end things and tell me to find my own path. A wife, a successful military career, and a bunch of kids later, I'm eternally grateful things turned out the way they did. Thank you, Katie."
thethrillamanila
Want better for YOU!
"To never chase or beg anyone to stay."
DarlinggD
"My first gf broke up with me over text right after she had left my place, walked her home even though we were both upset at each other. She refused to talk about it in person and then got mad at me for not fighting to keep her. I think I dodged a bullet because I don't think any relationship will work if one party refuses to communicate, uses breaking up to try to manipulate, or breaks up over text. All 3 in this case."
LumberWand
Under Pressure
Fuck You Season 4 GIF by FriendsGiphy"Someone can be a really good friend, doesn’t mean they’ll be a good partner. Also not to give in to pressure from your partner on things you believe in."
Rebel_0518
See your worth
"Apparently I get too attached which is odd to me cause I’m just trying to care and I suppose it comes off in a weird way. I’m not gonna stop 'cause I know someone will see my worth and appreciate every second of it when they find me."
Odd_Imagination_6617
"Please don’t ever stop caring. There are enough emotionally detached people in the world; so much so that they’ll have you feeling like you’re the oddball."
Queasy_Thought_6532
Big lessons here.
Relationships take way more than love.
Learn it young.
The Worst 'Throw Them In The Deep End' Parenting Style Horror Stories
No two people have the same style when it comes to parenting.
Some people have a more nurturing approach, who never force anything on their children, and allow them to develop certain skills, from using the potty to riding a bicycle, in their own time.
Others have a more "tough love" approach.
The sort of people who, as the saying goes, throw their children head first in the deep end and let them figure out how to swim.
No doubt, such a technique will teach their children resilience and determination.
Even though, the chances of some of these situations backfiring is extremely likely.
As are the chances of lasting trauma for the children.
"What's your worst story from the "throw him in the pool, he'll learn how to swim" parenting style?"
Becoming One With Nature
"I had never gone camping before I was 11, I really wanted to go with my ten-year-old cousin."
"My parents took me to the woods, and handed us the tent and a half-full bag of ranch Doritios , and like a pack of bratwursts, and my seven-year-old sister."
"Then they pulled off, leaving us to camp for the first time alone in the woods with a seven-year-old."
"Not a fun weekend."
"I never went camping again, but it was apparently fine because that's how my dad and uncle learned."
"I'm just grateful for the lack of serial killers, and black bears."- UrDadTxtMe
Out On The Open Road
"My dad, when he decided to give me driving lessons when I was a teenager, which turned out to be a driving lessON, singular."
"He took me to the parking lot across the street from our house, and had me tool around to get used to the steering and pedals for about 15 minutes."
"Then, annoyed that I wasn't catching on fast enough for his taste, he decided we should go on the actual road and I'd learn faster in a more challenging environment."
"Cue him barking orders to 'speed up, slow down, HIT THE BRAKES!' in an increasingly frustrated voice as I tooled along, terrified I was going to hit someone."
"The culmination of our lesson came when he noticed we were low on gas, and told me to pull into the gas station."
"Keep in mind- my sum total of driving experience at this point was about 25 minutes, which did not include parallel parking."
"I pulled into the gas station and came at the pump at something like a 30-degree angle."
"He grabbed the steering wheel to correct and actually yelled at me, 'JESUS CHRIST!! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE?!'"
"To which I said, 'NO!!! I DON'T!! YOU'RE TEACHING ME, REMEMBER?!'"
"He drove back home silently."
"That was the end of Dad's driving lessons. I signed up with a driving school after that."- SigourneyReaver
Tough Love At It's Toughest
"I got stung by a bee and my mother was convinced I was faking."
"At the point I started to struggle to breathe, she finally irritatingly relented and made me walk to the hospital pushing my baby brother's stroller the entire way."
"When I got there, the staff were horrified, rushed me in to give me an epinephrine shot, and luckily that did the trick."
"Many months later, a bee got into my bedroom, and my father called me a pu**y for coming and getting him to deal with it, instead of dealing with it myself."
"'You have to learn how to deal with these things sometime!'"
"Or, like, you know, I could just ask someone not allergic to bees to come and safely deal with the bee instead of risking hospitalization?"
"My parents were terrible, and abusive for for more than just this one single incident."
"I have been NC for about twenty years because of the way they treated me as a child."
"I have countless incidents like this from both of them, this one just stood out at the time I was replying to this."- ShofieMahowyn
The Only Way To Teach Children How To Swim is by TEACHING THEM HOW TO SWIM!
"Not my story, but my mom's."
"She developed a phobia after she was thrown into a pool to learn how to swim."
"At the age of 70, she still doesn't know how to."
"She's terrified of being on the water, even in a safety vest."
"And then, some fake clairvoyant told her she would die by drowning."
"So we spent our summers in the mountains as far away from being on water."- myuniquenameonreddi
"I was scared of the deep end so my dad threw me in."
"My cousin parked an inflatable mattress in the corner I was in immediately."
"My parents supposedly yelled at him to move, he didn't."
"I don't know how long I was was under the mattress for, but I was spitting up water/choking when I came back up."
"I was maybe 6 at the time?"- Gone_cognito
Some People Really Are That Stubborn...
"My younger cousin, 4 at the time, was a climber and always needed help getting down."
"His dad told his mom to leave him."
"He’ll either learn how to get down himself or stop climbing."
"Cousin ended up climbing onto the roof, fell off and got impaled on a fence pole."
"One very expensive trip to the ER and he now has a cool scar on his thigh."
"He did not stop climbing, he just got better ways to get off the roof."- idontdigdinosaurs
A Baby? Seriously?!?!
"My father in law decided when his first child was born that they, he and his wife, would NOT go to the baby when he started crying in the middle of the night."
"In order to teach him that crying doesn’t get you anything in this world."
"Turns out, newborns need to be fed every two hours."
"So it’s a good thing my mother in law ignored him and went to their newborn son, otherwise he might have died."- ApolloStaples
Surprising As It May Seem, Some Children Do Tell The Truth
"Hurt my arm playing football during morning break at school, was sent home by the school nurse."
"My dad said it was fine, bandaged it and sent me to school the next day only for them to send me home again within an hour."
"My mum made my dad take me to hospital and my arm was broken."
"My wrist had spilt lengthways, it was in casts for 9 months."
"I was secretly buzzing to be honest because, well, that showed him the knob."-Reddit
Pills
"When I was about 5 or 6, I was very sick with a flu. Fever, vomiting, sweating, congestion, it was awful. There was some mixup at the pharmacy, and they thought I was my father and gave him adult medication-basically these giant horse pills."
"Now, normal child medication for things like this are syrups and chewable sh*t for obvious reasons. My dad comes home and tells me I have to take these meds. I have a hard time getting them down, almost choking a few times. My dad got frustrated and literally started shoving these huge pills down my sore throat with his angrily shaking fingers. I started crying, my nose was stuffed so I could only breathe through my mouth. I remember my dad’s wedding ring banging against my teeth, eyes watering, gasping for air while looking at my mom for help."
"Eventually, I coughed it back up, crying and throat on fire. I remember my mom demanding an apology from my dad, who just said 'Well, he’s going to have to learn to take pills like that sometime anyway' and stormed off."
"Damn. I haven’t thought about that story in 20+ years."
heyitsEnricoPallazzo·
Time To Swim Honey
"My dad and I once witnessed someone who literally did this for a little three-year-old girl. This little girl was just playing at the edge of the pool, happily minding her own business when her dad ran up behind her, picked her up, and tossed her screaming as far as he could into the deep end of the pool while yelling “time to swim honey”.
"At first my dad and I didn’t react, cause my dad has done this to me as a game (I learned to swim first) but we started to notice that she was struggling to surface while he dad just watched. My dad nervously asked, “can she swim?” To which the guy just shrugs and says “she’ll figure it out”.
"I have never seen my dad book it so fast to get it the water as I did that day. He quickly go the kid out of the water and started screaming at the guy about what kind of idiot he was while the girl was just bawling her eyes out. I swear my dad was ready to deck the guy. This was back in the 1990s so we didn’t have a cell phone to call the police, but we never saw them again after. It was the first time in my life I had seen insane parenting and to this day freaks me out that some people will still do this."
Lark1987
Margs
"My stepmom walked us (me, sister, brother 10-12) deep into the woods and left us there to learn 'survival skills'. We thought we were all out on a hike then she distracted us, and ran away. We wandered into camp hours later; we knew how to get back but searched for hours worried that something had happened to her. She was drinking margaritas and smirking."
visviva1
Sink or Swim
"I actually used to be a swim teacher in college teaching private lessons in people's backyards because of parents who had thrown their kids into the pool to sink or swim. It was usually Mom's calling me for help because they heard from a friend of a friend that I was able to teach their kid and get them to like the water again in about a month or less. One kid, he was 7, I had to sit with him on the pool deck the whole first lesson and bring buckets of water to him, his Dad had dunked him multiple times and insisted that his son would just figure it out eventually because "that's how he learned." Needless to say he was never home when I was there."
"The Mom had me come while Dad was at work. Four weeks later she had me come later in the afternoon so he would come home towards the end of the lesson. His Dad saw his son swimming and cried happy tears. He had no idea I had been there three days a week for a month. My favorite student was a 70-year-old man who wanted to do a triathlon but never learned to swim because his Dad threw him in as a child. It took about 3 months total, a lot of hand holding on the steps and shallow end, but he finally achieved his goal and I got to cheer him on at the finish line."
"I still remember how each of my students clung to my arms and clawed at my neck in their first lessons. I never dunked or forced anyone out of their comfort zone. My lessons had to be customized for each student to keep it fun and relaxing. The trauma in their eyes was haunting though. It stayed with me and I NEVER force anything on my kids that they aren't ready to do. It's about trust, not force."
torneen
Rage Stroke
"I was at the beach one time and it was hot out-I could not walk on the sand without sandals on. I heard a cry and looked up to see a little girl standing barefoot on the sand, not more than two, screaming for her dad, 5 feet away, who just told her to ‘stop being such a little pu**y’. Just about had a rage stroke and ran over to pick her up myself, but he eventually did." - ubereddit
Picky Eater
"I was always a picky eater growing up. One time my mom sat me down with a small bowl of almonds and told me I couldn’t get up out of my seat until I finished it. I insisted that I hated them and they were making my mouth itch, she thought I was just being difficult. I just started to swallow the almonds like pills because my mouth was so itchy from chewing on them."
"A couple years later I saw and allergist and discovered I was allergic to tree nuts."
Good Learning Experience?
"This didn't happen to me but to my older brother, so I had a front-row seat to all of it."
"He was looking to purchase a house for cheap that was in a semi-rural area, and wanted at least some acreage near it. His budget was way smaller than it should have been for the houses he wanted, and was looking at the most dilapidated, terrible houses ever. He found one that was just what he wanted: multiple rooms, a basement, 2 acres of woods, and about 15-30 minutes away from nearby cities. It was only about $120,000, and he was sold on it. The problems were abundant however, and I told him not to do it. Our parents loved this idea."
"They pushed and encouraged him, looked at it and took pictures, helped fill out loan paperwork, and even started planning all of the restoration projects it would need. My brother was committed all the way to the point of confirming the loan and moving there immediately. I was mortified. This house was an absolute dump made in the early 1910s and redid once in 1950. It had mold, holes in the roof and walls, old rusted wiring, peeling wallpaper, and crumbling shelves. The only redeemable part was the size of the rooms, which were pretty decent. I begged him not to do it, and it finally made him think twice."
"Finally, he relented and listened to me. He stopped and decided not to do anything. Later, I brought up how bad of an idea that house was and my parents completely agreed. They thought it was garbage, but they wanted him to follow through because it would have been a "good learning experience." I was floored and asked why they would support this then, and they simply responded that it would teach him to be careful with these kinds of things."
"They were literally going to let him go into massive debt and struggle so hard in order to teach him to be more careful of opportunities, and they tried to push it and encourage it instead of just sitting down and explaining all of this!"
"Tldr: Parents were going to let my brother go into massive debt to buy a sh*tty old house in order to teach him a lesson on waiting to find a better house deal after encouraging and nearly forcing him to go through with it." - JJ_Fury97
Everyone needs a little tough love every now and again.
Of course, the important element of tough love is the love, not the toughness.
And one can't help but wonder if parents putting their children in potentially deadly situations are actually acts of love?
Have you ever found something out or learned something new that you wish you had known earlier in your life?
For me, I wish I learned earlier in life that reading underneath your covers with a flashlight will ruin your sight. I fear I’ve done irreparable damage to my eyes.
Redditors have admitted there are lessons they learned too late in life as well. In fact, they admit there are some lessons that everyone learns too late in life.
Curious as to what those lessons are, a Redditor asked:
“What do people learn too late?”
Take Care Of Your Body
"To protect their ears, you don't want to live with tinnitus for the rest of your life because you were exposed to a loud noise once"
– NapoleonBlownApart1
"Learned this one too late. I can ignore it most of the time, but some nights."
– TerrisKagi
"Take care of your teeth."
– BecomingSavior
Communication
"Setting and respecting boundaries, how to give a genuine apology, and other such communication 101 skills."
– Deleted User
"Yes! Boundaries, 100%. It's not rude or selfish (or unladylike!) to treat yourself with respect."
– takethetrainpls
"The apology thing is huge. I'm starting to get the impression most people don't know how to give a real apology (or just won't)"
– griddigus
"Not communicating with my wife almost destroyed my marriage. I’m finally learning to tell my wife how I feel."
– Thee-lorax-
Write, Write, Write
"The importance of writing skills for formal contexts."
"Writing is an important skill in nearly any field and the more a career advances the more important it becomes. The lack of adequate writing skill often holds back a career."
"Yet many people squander their opportunities to learn writing because they think their class assignments are empty busy work and they figure their skills in spoken English and informal text messages will carry over when they need to write for work"
– doublestitch
Love While You Live
"That the cliche "you never know when it's the last time you'll see to someone" should absolutely be remembered for every occasion. My best friend just died in a car accident this past Saturday, and the last time I saw him we got in an argument and he left and we didn't speak after that. I'm destroyed by it"
"I do have a great support circle outside of this, but all these replies and condolences really shows the empathy complete strangers can have"
– Jew-Barrymore
"My grandpa passed away two weeks ago from cancer. We flew to Saskatchewan (where he lives) and managed to see him. I talked with him and gave him a hug. Before we left, I had the felling that I was never seeing him again. I snuck back into the room and gave him one last hug and told him that I will miss him. He died 6 hours later. I’m so grateful for whatever it was that told me to see him one last time before we went home."
– m4tt1111
Digital Privacy...
"What not to share on the internet."
– DetectiveBowtie
"Everytime I see my Facebook memories I die a little bit on the inside"
– ronyty
...And Professional Privacy
"Or at work. Co-workers are not friends!"
– MsSchadenfraulein
"I just worked with a lady this past weekend and told her I'm trying to bid to another department. It's more money and a much easier job to do for 12 hours."
"Within the next 2 hours she was arguing with my boss about something and tells him that he's the reason why everyone is trying to bid out and I'm going somewhere else."
– Decyde
Laziness Doesn't Pay
"Sitting on your @ss all day is not good for your health at all."
– poopellar
"rolls over onto stomach instead"
– ugglee_exe
"Sitting is the new smoking.”
"It’s silly, but seeing as how my heavy-smoking mother passed away and I sit a lot during the day (work, commute, hobby) that sentence motivated me to become more active (go for walks, runs, and to the gym)."
– Shinobiii
Just Say No
"That "no" is a complete sentence. Don't get in the habit of auto-launching explanations and defenses - oftentimes, the people listening will ignore all that anyway and just hear "but here's an opportunity to dissuade me, look how hard I'm working to get your approval to say no to you!""
– grammarchick
Purge The Toxicity
"The value of walking away from someone toxic in your life, even if it is your parents and family. If you are thinking of it and are scared and have somewhere where you can land in a safe place, then do it. It hurts like hell for a long while, but it gets better and one day you realize how peaceful your life is and you find you only miss the family you wish you had had."
– irishmuminacoldland
"Yes. Also, find a support net but for your own sanity, just avoid the topic with people who are curious. Not many people understand and will try to talk you into making up with your family."
"It's so hard in the beginning but it gets much easier. You find your own people, create your own families, and your own peace."
– bascelicna123
In A Rich Man's World
"Interest rates, credit cards, credit score, money saving techniques, 401K. In other words anything that keeps you from being trapped by poor money management."
– TheLivingBubba
"How to manage their finances."
– KreamoftheKropp
"Lesson #1: $1000 is not a lot to have, but it's a lot to owe."
– 2020Chapter
Pilot Your Own Life
"That's being wrong and changing your mind is actually nothing to be ashamed of."
– SA_DrOpossum
Never Too Late
"That it's never too late to learn."
– j4yf3rb
I sure hope that's true. The one thing I've learned is that there’s still so much left to learn!
We often look back on our teenage years with mixed emotions.
Our final years where we could enjoy our youth, and live largely without responsibility and just enjoy being a child and all that came with it.
Of course, we might also look back on things we did as teenagers which we are less than proud of today.
Or things we wish someone had told us, so that we may have avoided falling into those unhappy situations.
Redditor notViperX was curious to hear all the things people believed every modern teenager needs to know, leading them to ask:
"Adults of Reddit, what is something every Teenager needs to know?"
No Means No!
"It's ok to say no to anyone."
"Don't let anyone in your life guilt trip you into doing something you don't want to do or are uncomfortable with."- Purpleraven01
What Constitutes Being "Cool" Is Debatable...
"It's exactly as lame to not do something you want to do because it's too mainstream or popular as it is to do something only because it's cool and the cool kids are doing it."- itsacalamity
Pay Attention in Gym And Spanish Class!
"Learn a second language."
"It's good for your brain, and it's a lot easier when you're young."
"Get active and fit; make it a habit."
"This is one of the most important ways to stave off cognitive decline as you get older."
"Plus, it's great for managing mental health during the transition to adulthood."- HappyHappyKidney
will ferrell anchorman GIFGiphyPut Those Pennies In The Bank!
"Start trying to save money now."
"You will definitely thank yourself later on."- Lastnight97
Sometimes Being Wrong Is The Only Way To Learn You're Right
"Failing is okay."- 2Graves1Ashe
People Are Always Willing To Help!
"When you make a mistake, own up to it."
"People are more willing to help you when you admit you did a dumb thing."
"This goes for school, work, and personal life."
"Forget to make a payment on a loan?"
"Call and talk to the finance company."
"Mess something up on a school project?"
"Tell your teacher and ask for a bit of leeway, Etc."
"People will be more likely to help you if you communicate."
"Start your retirement fund as early as possible."
"Doesn’t matter if you can only afford $5 a week, it’s still $5 more than you would have had otherwise."
"It WILL add up and you’ll thank yourself later."- GreenOnionCrusader
help me 80s GIFGiphyFollow Your Dream, But Have A Safety Net
"Get a marketable skill, unskilled labor sucks."
"You need something that’s going to pay you, it doesn’t have to be your life’s passion, contrary to what my peers were saying at that age, but you do need to be able to tolerate it."-sweetperdition
"If you don't have a passion, learn new skills."
"You might find your passion or something you're good at."- checkmatelocked
Better Safe Than Sorry
"Cashiers don't care if you buy condoms."- induceddaftfan
Safe Sex Love GIF by DUREXGiphyLooking back at things we wish we knew or had done differently will never end up doing us any good.
But giving this advice to young people could save them a world full of trouble.
Rather than mope about the past, we can help improve the future.
People Divulge Which Harmful Things Are Still Being Taught To Children Today
There is an ongoing concern that politicians are becoming too involved in what can and cannot be taught in classrooms.
Indeed, even with the school year in full swing, too many Florida public schools continue to find themselves insufficiently staffed with teachers, several of who resigned out of protest, following the controversial "don't say gay" bill, or being told they could not display historical Black figures on their bulletin boards.
It is in the single digits when children are at their most impressionable, when they begin to learn what's right and what's wrong, as well as how to treat others with kindness and compassion.
Making the dangerous information, or misinformation, or lack thereof which they are taught in schools and elsewhere all the more problematic, to the point of dangerous.
"What harmful things are being taught to children?"
Such Behavior Should Never Be Tolerated
"'Ignore bullies and they'll leave you alone'."
"When you do that, one of two things are likely to happen."
"Either they'll mess with you more, or they'll move to someone else and bully them."
"If you stand up to bullies, they back down."
"The earlier in life you put these people in their place, the less likely they'll develop their bad behavior as a lifelong practice."- EGoldenRule
"'If he's mean to you he likes you'."
"It just teaches little girls, mostly girls, to expect violence from people who love them."- mbar2004
Be Open Minded, But Also Be Practical
"Going too far on the 'find your dream job and it'll never feel like work' stuff."
"Really messed me up when I wasn't 'excited' about uni assignments and thought I had to change degrees."- TheRealGreenTreeFrog
Grown Ups Can Definitely Be Wrong...
"Teaching kids not to question things just because someone is older, or allegedly wiser, is one of the most frustrating things that I see on a daily basis."
"How is a child supposed to ever develop any individual and nuanced ideas if they can’t think for themselves."- AtLeast5
... And Being Wrong Is OK!
"Being wrong is bad."
"That's why many people don't change their mind when they were given trustable sources, they don't want to be wrong."- oti890
There Is Always Someone Willing To Listen
"Nobody cares about children’s/teens issues."
“'Well it’s only going to get worse from here'."
“'You think school is hard? Have you ever paid a f*cking bill'.”
“'You’re just a kid you can’t feel this way'."
"It breeds an emotional disconnect from parents and their kids."
"And makes kids feel alone in their emotional struggles, that nobody cares because they’re not adults and they don’t have 'Adult Problems'."- Fantalitymlp
Punished For Going The Extra Mile
"There was this one time my sister’s Spanish teacher told her off for using vocabulary outside the sheet she’d been given for homework."
"Their task was to write a short essay introducing themselves in Spanish and use some simple adjectives."
"She asked me for help and since I’m quite a bit older than her and know a decent amount of Spanish, I have her a few interesting adjectives and verbs to use instead of dumb stuff like 'nice' and 'kind' or whatever."
"She comes back after school close to tears and tells me she got scolded for using vocab that wasn’t on the sheet."
"Smh teachers are supposed to encourage learning, not hinder it, right?"
"Just to clarify, I wasn’t helping my sister cheat."
"I just gave her a couple of more interesting words than bland ones like 'nice' and 'fun' you get me?"
"If not, that’s cool too lmao."- mangaka-chan
Potentialy Dangerous "Influence"...
"Basically all those social media influencers that teach young people that it's all about money and brand names."- TRGMORGAN
The Truth About Sex
"Children do learn about sex at a young age, it just isn’t usually in a productive way."
"I know I did."
"My own experience, questions like this are why I believe in being infinitely clear with my kids."
”'You are going to hear total crap from other kids'."
"'If you hear something you don’t understand, come talk to me'."
"'You can ask me anything and expect a decent answer'.”
"And I would give examples of the total crap I had heard as a kid, most of which would result in pregnancy."
"Son, age 6, Daughter, age 7, riding home from school."
"Daughter says 'tiffany said she had sex with my brother'.”
"Which left me a grand total of 3 minutes to gather my wits before we got home."
"'OK, do you guys know what sex is?'"
"Blank looks."
"Sex is when you take off all of your clothes and rub privates together."
"You can make babies that way."
"Looks of shock and disgust."
"Do you think your brother had sex with Tiffany?"
"Nooo!"
"I think she was using a really bad way of trying to say she likes him, and maybe she watches the wrong TV shows where if people like each other they always have sex."
"Were my kids really ready for a sex talk? "
"No, not really. "
"They didn’t care."
"Did we really need to have one about then?"
"Yep."
"My job as a parent is to be there to put things that come up in context for them, not run around after them deciding what and when they need to know things."- sushihcare
Children are, indeed, our future.
And with that in mind, it is important that teachers, and all of us for that matter, are very mindful of the information we put in their minds.
As they are our only hope for a brighter, better future.