It’s one of the rules of childhood. You’re going to get angry and frustrated with your parents when they say no to you or refuse you privileges or generally just irritate you by breathing. You’re going to say something you will regret if you don’t learn to hold your tongue and your temper.
So, kids, here are 5 of the worst things you can ever say or do to your mum and dad.
1. Blatantly ignore their rules: You know that one about being home by a certain time or keeping your room clean or not backchatting your dad when he tells you to help out in the garden. It’s their house and while you’re living there, you have to abide by their rules. It’s tough but them’s the breaks.
2. Telling barefaced lies: You tell them you’re going to your friend’s house for a sleepover. You’re really going to an all-night party. Mum’s suspicious and quizzes you closely. You stick to your story, looking ever more shifty as you do so. Come clean. She knows you’re lying, you know you’re lying so don’t bother trying to fool them, it just won’t work.
3. Embarrassing your parents in public: No-one likes a drama that is played out for the rest of the world to see. A tantrum in the mall or in a holiday resort might seem like a good idea at the time, especially when the alternative is you failing to get your way, but in the long term it’s not so good. Parents never forgot a public humiliation and you will pay for this for a long time. So, button it.
4. “I hate you! I wish I’d never been born!”: Way to wound your parents big style. Of course, they know you don’t really mean what you’re screaming at them but boy, does it hurt when the apple of your eye tells you they hate you. And it’s not going to make you feel any better either because the fact is you don’t hate them – you just hate that they’re not giving in to your every whim. You’ll hate yourself when you’re older and wince when you recall this moment.
5. “I wish I were dead! I wish you were dead!”: Again this is something frequently said in the heat of the moment but rarely means what you think it does. Saying you’d rather be dead or rather your mum or dad was dead is one of the most hurtful things you can ever say to a parent. And once said, it’s not something you can take about and not something that will ever be forgotten or forgiven.