Hello children! Today I will tell you tales of children who dreamt of growing up free and happy. But in the kingdom of parenting, not all guardians were gentle. They all have powers, but some use it to love while some wield the power like weapons and use it to their advantage.
WARNING: Every tale you are about to hear [read] comes from someone’s lived experience (who will be anonymous). Some details may sound exaggerated, unbelievable, or even absurd, but that is the point. You, the reader, get to decide which parts you feel are lies and which parts ring true. After all, in the kingdom of parenting, conditioning and manipulation goes a long way.
The Helicopter Sorcerer
This parent hovered over the poor child, they could barely breathe.
“You don’t need friends. I am all you need.”
The parent declared, as if any relationship outside of theirs was a curse.
“You must live with me, I am the only one that can protect you. If you do decide to move out or show any sign of wanting to, I will disown you as you have chosen the dangerous world over me and remember you depend on me to survive.”
What was supposed to be the child’s safe space, now a place of captivity.
The Boundary-Breaking Shark
This parent believed giving birth came with a pass that allowed them a lifetime of breaking and ignoring boundaries…
“I need your location at all times. And I will always be monitoring it, never leave this spot.”
“Hey, let me read your diary, Lord knows what you are writing about me. Hand it over.”
“Hey! No locking your door on the inside or I will either take down your door or put cameras in your room. Take your pick.”
“Hey give me your phone. I need to go through everything on it. I want to make sure you are not sending pictures of yourself in outfits we don’t approve of to people.”
After all, privacy was outlawed in the kingdom, punishable by public humiliation rituals, starvation and being thrown unto the street.
The Protective Lying Ogre
This parent lied in the name of love and protection
“The world is a terrible place, only I can protect you. Everyone else will betray you. Every last one.”
“Sex is vile, sinful and immoral. It’s supposed to happen only to make babies and that’s all to it”
“A human’s reason to live is to reproduce. People that don’t want to have kids should have been aborted. And the day they were born should be cursed.”
“There are only two genders and anything else is possession by the devil.”
When the child opened their heart to the world, and realized the lies, they confronted the ogre with a heart-to-heart conversation. The Liar cried,
“After everything I have given you. Is this how you repay me? You ignore my words and embarrass me by calling me a liar. I am no longer your parent from this day forward. That is enough embarrassment for a lifetime. What are people supposed to think of me if they hear this?”
All the child ever wanted was to understand why the protector lied and for them to take responsibility for their words. Love got twisted into guilt.
The Spotlight Witch
This parent made everything about themselves.
“If you cannot protect yourself, what will people say about me? I bragged about you being strong and capable of protecting yourself like I am. Don’t ruin my name. If you cannot protect yourself then maybe you are not my child and don’t deserve to be.”
The child’s victories became props for the parent’s reputation.
The Entitled Troll Deity
The parent demanded control over a child’s desires.
“You have no right to want something different from what I approve of and what is considered normal by society. Wash those sinful thoughts or get out of my house.”
This child just had different taste in people, food and lifestyle and the Entitled Troll eavesdropped on the child’s conversation about her confliction to her best friend.
Children, the moral of the story is:
Love without Respect is Control.
Love without honesty is betrayal.
Love without listening causes loneliness.
Children do not need perfect parents; they need parents to see them, hear them and let them grow. Because you have been on the Earth longer does not give you the “I am always right” ticket. There is also no shame in admitting you are wrong, or saying sorry; it does not make you less human.
