Sticking to BS Parenting Cliches Won’t Help Us Raise Well-Adjusted Kids

5. “Don’t do that, you might get hurt!” I get it, we never want our kids to feel pain.

We want to protect them from every kind of damage we can, whether it’s falling off a structure they were haphazardly climbing or dating someone you warned them against.

But as my dad used to say when my brother and I got ourselves hurt doing something foolish, “that’s how they learn.”

It sounds cruel, but the same culture that’s quick to condemn this generation for being “too weak” is also quick to tell kids not to do anything that might hurt.

Despite all that, making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn.

Do what you can to avoid trips to the ER, but know that telling someone they’ll get hurt isn’t enough to dissuade them from doing something they feel will be a valuable experience.

Let your children have their mistakes and trust that they are capable of independent personal growth.