What screams "I'm a terrible parent"?

1. My cousin has ruined her son. People who meet him think he's "special" because he can't be away from her. He's turning 13 and still sleeps in bed with his mother, follows her even to the bathroom, and has absolutely no friends. She lets him miss way too much school. If she's off from work he magically isn't feeling well and stays home. She also lets him do and see anything he wants. The kid was watching True Blood when he was little. If you haven't seen it, people are regularly fucking each other, tearing bodies apart, and sometimes combining the two. He also has seen all of the 50 Shades movies with his mom. It's just bad.
   — smallerthings


2. Putting mountain dew in a sippy cup.
   — YoungThugTheGoat


3. When a parent is so inattentive that their older child is essentially raising the younger children, 24/7. To the point where the younger child is stuck with a broken leg for two weeks, before getting attention for it. Accidental attention, because the parent was completely unaware of the fact that this is why the child is refusing to walk and screaming in pain every time they're forced to. Just because you *can* have kids, doesn't mean you'll be good at it, or even should.
   — LadyRevontulet






4. No follow through. They are behind you at the ice cream stand, the kids is being a shit stain, mom says "If you don't stop you won't get ice cream." Kid doesn't stop, mom threatens the same thing, 4 more times, and the kid gets ice cream anyway. Tip from a guy who's doing his best to raise 2 non-assholes: Follow. Through. If you don't, you're setting a bunch of bad examples at once. 1) Your threats are worthless. 2)The behavior isn't that bad anyway. 3) The kids runs the show.
   — HEpennypackerNH


5. Joining a group like one million moms to get things you think your kids shouldn't see banned instead of taking the time to raise your kids yourself.
   — Cinema_King


6. Holding and shaking their baby off a ledge of a three story apartment complex to "entertain" them.
   — A-MinorBish






7. Ridiculing your child in public for the sole purpose of making your kid feel bad.
   — dj4wvu


8. I used to work in a bookshop (r.i.p Borders), and remember seeing this sweet looking kid pestering her mum for this picture book. The mum just turned to the kid and yelled "I'm not reading to you. You're having a DVD instead." This was like 2006, so DVDs were way more expensive than picture books. Broke my heart. Poor kid just wanted her mum to read her a story, but the mum just wanted to dump the kid in front of the tv. I think about it all the time. That kid had no chance. I bet she's grown up to be just like her mother too.
   — Negative_Splace


9. Having a TV show about you but using your children to increase ratings. Or having a TV show about your children and all you are there for is to stir up drama and bullshit.
   — captainstan






10. When you say something like "If you don't stop doing X then we are going home." and then when they don't stop, you don't go home. Worse is when they are throwing a fit and you try to bribe them to stop doing something. *kid screaming* "do you want X?" *kid nods and you give them the thing* Congrats, you just paid them to throw a fit next time.
    — BigDickKatie


11. Not vaccinating
    — CelebrityTakeDown


12. I just posted this not 10 seconds ago. I work as a cashier at the register closest to the door. I naturally look up when someone leaves or come in. A woman and her son come in, the son is annoying the mom so much she has to buy aspirin. He asked for a candy bar, she wouldn't respond yes or no but, "shut up!" Each time he asks he gets closer to the door, after like the 4th he opens the door. I glance up, he sees me and pretends to put the candy back. After he pretends he puts it in the hand opposite of me so I couldn't see. He again opens the door while I'm ringing the mom up, making me look up again for the second time. Second time the mom looks up as well, sees the son trying to steal and proceeds to yell.. at *me*. Saying I'm a racist, that I'm profiling her son because he's black, saying that I'm call her a bad mom for thinking she'd let him steal. Actually lady, I wasn't but you seriously are. All you did in the store was tell him to 'shut the fuck up' and then took his side when he was clearly trying to leave with the candy. (Side note: kid comes in with his grandmother and cousins a lot. They regularly leave while she's paying to eat in the car so I assume that's what he would of pulled) No, I don't not like your son because he's black so don't tell him that it's why I 'profiled' him. I don't like *you* because you think screaming at me is going to get your way over on my management, that playing the race card is going to seal the deal and now your son is afraid of me because he thinks I hate him. *YOU* made it about race, teaching him that all white people are ignorant now from this one instance.
    — ForeverPizzaPrincess






13. Whenever a kid gets in trouble for anything and the parent is like, "oh he doesn't know any better" rather than hold him accountable and teach him responsibility.
    — meisii


14. Using your kid to sell an MLM product.
    — DeterministDiet


15. My friend used to tell her daughter, "Why don't you act more like did\_it\_right's daughter. She's behaving, why can't you be more like her?" THAT would make my skin crawl.
    — did_it_right