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10 Simple Steps To Stop Toxic Parenting
Toxic parenting sets the stage for abusive adults and starts a cycle that is hard to escape. Thomas Fiffer offers 10 dos and don’ts to keep your parenting healthy and safe.
Perhaps the worst thing a parent can hear from a grown up child is, “I want you out of my life. You’re toxic.” It’s a death sentence for the relationship, spelling a long period of estrangement if not a permanent break. It may be the healthiest decision for the child, but it is a heartbreaking one that carves a deep wound in both psyches, making the road to reconciliation arduous and uncertain. No parent is perfect. We’re all human, and we all make mistakes, including some whoppers. But there’s a difference between screwing up while providing healthy love and presiding over a psychologically damaging childhood that will necessitate a lifetime of healing. The steps outlined below are for concerned parents who want to do things right and are willing to examine themselves critically. They presuppose a healthy degree of self-awareness and the desire and ability to make positive changes. They do not address behavior caused by substance abuse or serious mental illness. And they are only one man’s opinion.
