What do you wish your parents did differently when you were a child?

[flatlife]

I used to hate the fact my you ger brother was allowed to do what he liked while I had to behave. He was 1/2 and I was about 5. I hadn't realised he was a baby- I remember thinking he was dumb because he couldn't talk yet!
I wish my parents had explained that he was still a baby.

also when music videos had a sexual theme- it made me so embarrassed but the music was on in the 'background while my mom cleaned so she probably didn't notice.

drinking beer and smoking were main ones of course.

whats yours?

Checked the ratings on films, I remember watching pretty woman age 6/7....also education was encouraged and a given (private school) but there was zero focus on a career and understanding money etc.

My mother smoked. She couldn’t afford to let me join school clubs or hobbies to learn skills but she had money for cigarettes. That one still rankles. She gets furious if I mention it.

The rest - I just wish they’d been more proactive in seeking out opportunities and support for me. Instead of just shrugging their shoulders and saying we can’t do anything about it.

@OnlyFoolsnMothers that's a good point about the money
I will give mine free reign and see what happens. I havent let them learn yet!

I wish they had said they loved me. Just once. Would have been nice.

I wish my parents hadn't argued a lot in front / in hearing distance of me and my siblings

Be more loving and open. Separated or at least hid their fights from us, been more present and did activities together, praised more, encouraged more, stuck up to my bullies.

Very similar to PP, my parents valued education in its own right, which is a wonderful thing, but at 37 I very much regret not having made more vocational choices. I wish they had advised me differently there.
I am also becoming aware of how financially illiterate I have been for a large part of my adult life, so I wish they had taught me more about money management - my mum’s an accountant ffs!
(Addressing that rapidly though ).

Healthy diet, sun protection.

I wish my mum had left my idle, useless, vile, abusive father. Life would have been so much better for us all without him but mum was from the 50s housewife generation & though divorce was something to be ashamed of.

Can I be allowed a smug wallowing moment please?

Absolutely bloody nothing. They were by no means perfect, but I have no doubt that they adored me & my brother (and still do), and I have no doubt that every choice they made was with our best interests at the forefront.

If I can give my son a childhood at least 50% as good as mine I'll be chuffed.

Sorry

I would like to have not been brought up believing that an antichrist was going to rule the world and possibly behead me for my faith. I was really scared.

Healthy diet and attitude to food and exercise
Taught me about money/ managing finances
Didn’t smoke
Told me they loved me rather than just buy me good things (Christmas and birthday not spoilt!)

Why oh why did they not bother to win the bloody lottery?

Waited longer to get married. Mum was 18, dad was 20. By the time dad was 30 they were divorced. They were good people, just too young. They then both spent over a decade finding themselves after the divorce, and had a string of relationships during that time that I had to witness. By the time they settled I was happy for them, but I envy friends who come from parents who love each other and created a steady home life.

Smoking around me

No terrifying arguments with my dad punching the walls and calling each other the worst names under the sun. Refusing to stop when I went down to beg them because they were terrifying my younger sister. Not rewriting history so that the awful things they did to us didn't happen.

Valued me.

Not smoke. Wish my dad had treated me like my older sisters and involved himself in my life. Wish my parents had been able to split up rather than live in bitterness and debt.

To be more affectionate and to say they loved me. As an adult I've been in relationships, married for 13 years at one point but I'm a cold fish. I said to my sister the other day that I'm not cut out to be with anyone and she agreed.

More when I was a teen. She'd just let me get on with things and make a catalogue of mistakes. I got minimal guidance or counsel from her and I felt I couldn't talk to her. It helped me to be independent but you fo yearn for some kind of protection and guidance when you're young.

Almost exactly the same as @FredaFox. My parents were great and we knew we were loved but I wish I'd been taught the benefits of healthy eating and importance of both that and exercise. Mum was always on a diet but I remember her making chicken nuggets and chips for us then eating a salad herself.

I also agree with money management, specially about the importance of pensions and about compound interest. My parents are quite money savvy and taught us to "spend a bit, save a bit" but I wish I'd had more financial education.

I wish my Mum had treated me and my brothers equally. Older brother was allowed a house party with alcohol when he was 16. I wasn't. Apparently he was allowed because he was older

I wish crisps/biscuits etc weren't kept in a locked cupboard so we couldn't eat them except when allowed. Then maybe I wouldn't have such an unhealthy attitude towards food now.

I wish my parents believed me when I told them my brother was a racist and that the baby I had aborted was his. :(

I wish they had told me that if I had a problem I could tell them. Reality is they would have helped me but I thought I would be bothering them. Consequently I'd worry endlessly about tiny things which seemed huge to a child but were actually easy to deal with.

Bloody hell theformer
That's shocking-so sorry you went through that.
For me it would be
Not to have believed in smacking
Not smoked
Been easier to talk to- I never confided in them
Been less strict
Been more honest about what was going on ie not much money