"Growing up, I thought my parents were the meanest people on the planet. Now, at thirty-something, I watch my peers struggle with basic adulting while I navigate life with a weird sense of preparedness that I can only trace back to those "cruel" childhood rules. The truth is, what felt like tyranny then looks a lot like wisdom now. Those strict parents who seemed so out of touch? They were secretly building something in us that no participation trophy ever could: Genuine capability."
"My father spent thirty years in sales management, and the lessons he brought home weren't always gentle, but they were real. Here are nine things strict parents taught that sounded cruel at the time but created oddly capable adults: 1) Life isn't fair, and that's okay Remember crying about something being unfair and getting the classic response: "Life isn't fair"?"
Strict parenting instilled preparedness, resilience, and practical capability through firm rules and realistic lessons. Children were taught that life is often unfair and to respond with strategy rather than complaint. Parents deflated entitlement and discouraged participation trophies to encourage effort and competence. Real-world examples, like a parent passed over for promotion, were used to teach workplace navigation and acceptance without bitterness. The approach emphasized responsibility, adaptability, and self-reliance, producing adults who adjust strategies, tolerate injustice without crumbling, and prioritize creating fairness through action. The result was a generation of oddly capable adults equipped for adulting and workplace dynamics.
Read at Silicon Canals
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