Grateful People Reveal How Much Good Parenting Has Affected Their Life.

You don’t really fully understand until later in life how much of an impact good parenting had on who you are as an individual.

Here, people reveal what good parenting lessons had a lasting impact.

1. Now, that’s a good way to get your kids involved.

Whenever my mom was cooking, I would always ask, “When’s the food going to be ready? I’m hungry.” My mom told me that If I was going to pester her about the food, I had to help her. It began with stirring whatever was on the stove. I was a kid, I could handle it.

It later changed to “chop the (insert vegetables here).” Then, it changed to “make the side dishes.” It eventually turned into “make dinner.” I am a 28 year old bearded dude who cooks Mexican food from scratch like a grandmother.

This upbringing made me comfortable in the kitchen. My culinary knowledge expanded when I moved out and lived on my own. If I was craving anything, instead of going out to eat, I would go online, research a few recipes, find the common ingredients, and make my own. Thai, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Indian; I got all that on lockdown.

Knowing how to cook is truly the best skill I learned from my parents. It also helps in the art of wooing a lady.

Col_Monstrosity

2. My dad made me punctual.

Even when I was 12 and would play out in the woods with my friends he would have me “check in” in person by Sunset. When I did he would always let me keep playing for another hour or two.

Later on when I started driving and hanging out with friends he would have me call in by Midnight. I would always hit the phone 15 minutes early (so I could have time to be home by midnight if he didn’t answer) and he’d always extend my curfew to 2am. “Just playing Megaman at Bill’s, mind if I hang out a little longer?” “Thanks for calling in, be home by 2, no later and don’t expect another extension.” “No problem.”

Now that I’m in my 30s I can not possibly be late to an appointment, and when circumstances arise where I’m going to be late I have to call well ahead to let everyone know I’m running late. Its almost a compulsion, but it’s a trait that has made me extremely reliable in my job and personal life.

I totally blame my dad. His rules were very relaxed and he wasn’t strict, but when he said he expected me to be home or check in with him by a specific time, he damn well meant it, and every time I did I was rewarded with equal respect. “Ok you got a thing going on, thanks for checking in, finish your thing and then come home.” The mutual respect made it work, it made me want to follow his rules.

Team_Braniel

3. It’s all about balance.

I told my dad that when I grow up, I wanted to have fun at work and do something I enjoyed and liked, and I asked him why he didn’t have a job like that.

He said, “Do you know what I like? Feeding and supporting my family.”

Now I don’t necessarily hate my job, and I don’t love it either. But I have a secure job with a steady and decent cash flow. My father taught me that you may not always like your job, but sometimes you have to do what is necessary for someone else.

i-n-joyfilm

4. People really appreciate it.

Since learning how to spell/write, my mom always gave me… (story continued on the next page…).

Continue onto the next page for more!

Since learning how to spell/write, my mom always gave me… (story continued on the next page…). a 2-week window to send a Thank You note after receiving a gift or after being helped by someone, etc. To this day, I send TY notes immediately and try keep up correspondence with friends and family on a regular basis. Everyone always calls, writes back, or texts to say how great it made them feel that I took the time to send them a handwritten note. A little thanks goes a long way. I think most manners have gone out the window nowadays, and I’m glad my mom drilled some respect into my brain at such a young age.

MotherGinger

5. Try your best.

My dad always told me never to do something half-assed, either do it or don’t. To this day, I have learned not to make commitments that I knew I could not follow through on.

Thank you, Dad.

grimguitar

6. You can learn from their mistakes.

It’s funny, because I’m big on punctuality now because my father was always 10 minutes late to everything. Like if he had to take me to football practice, I was always late. It drove me absolutely nuts, so now I make sure to be early for everything.

The thing that good parenting taught me is really empathy and compassion for others. When I was a kid my dad always taught tried to get me to see all sides of any issue. Even if he was fighting with my mom, he’d explain what was going on with them. It’s really made it easy for me to get along with people as an adult.

Kijafa

7. It’s good to build responsibility.

My parents had me working since I was 8. They always paid me, and I worked for them at their business doing easy busywork like dusting. They slowly taught me how to do more and more, and eventually I could take care of whole contracts by myself, around the time I was a teenager. I had to be in charge of other people who were much older than me, and I had to be responsible and have a good work ethic.

Now, every job I’ve had has benefited greatly from the experience and ethics they taught me. I’ve been working as long as I can really remember. They taught me to be reliable, responsible, self-motivated and hard working, and for that I’m quite grateful.

[deleted]

8. “I love my mom.”

My mom is a social worker. She is an incredible one. Always doing things for the kids rather than the job (story continued on the next page…).

Continue onto the next page for more!

I was about sixteen at the time and I got drunk and threw up for the first time. My friend called her and she picked me up at four in the morning. She said to me, “You get one”. We never spoke about it again. Almost four years later, I have never thrown up from drinking again.

I love my mom.

pansymarks

9. Thanks, I guess…

‘Made’ me work for my own money since I was 14. to this day, (24) I’ve bought everything I own with my own money. At first I was too young and bought stupid things. Later on I realized it was dumb and started to use my money wisely.

Utterly_Blissful

10. Being smart is a huge leg up.

When I was in the 7th grade I won the school geography bee (even though I desperately tried to lose it), which qualified me to go to the state tournament. I was so embarrassed I threw away the invitation. When my dad found it in the garbage he sat me down and basically laid out that virtually every famous or important person in the world was not only smart, but actively showed everyone how smart they are. After that I was no longer hesitant about speaking up in social settings, questioning what I was told if I knew otherwise (which got me in lots of trouble at a Catholic high school), and giving my opinions, even when in the company of people who were my superiors.

Now in the workforce for several years, I can trace much of my success back to that specific incident and the way it shifted my worldview from the (sadly) popular opinion in adolescents that “being smart is not cool” to the much more accurate “being smart is a huge leg up.”

moneyhands

11. Definitely left a lasting impression.

Silent Generosity.

I remember going to a diner with my Dad for breakfast when I was young. We ate near a window in which a homeless woman was nestled on the other side. He didn’t mention her throughout the meal, or when she finally came inside and ordered a glass of water. We were finishing up by this point and when the waitress came to collect the bill, he handed her an extra $40 and asked that she “put it towards whatever the lady that just sat down would like and to give her whatever is left”. Before the waitress could finish delivering the gift my Dad had already hustled out of the diner to avoid any gratitude.

I’m sure this was just one scenario I happened to be a part of by chance, and that if I brought it up today he wouldn’t even remember, but it made a lasting impression.

haveatyou

12. Gave me good family values.

If I wanted a toy, I had to come up with a good reason why I needed it. If I’d received anything recently it would have to be a damn good reason. When we got older we were expected to work during the summers (story continued on the next page…).

Continue onto the next page for more!

During high school the money went pretty much straight into the family coffers. In college it was used to offset the spending money my parents gave us (which of course meant out debit card statements went home for some light review).

Ultimately I think this sort of attitude towards money put a more familial spin on financial responsibility. You aren’t working hard and saving for a “thing”. You are working hard and saving because you’re supposed to. If you want something that’s OK, but you need to rationalize it to yourself – and ultimately your family – because what you spend affects them too.

TheNicestMonkey

13. Trust is important.

My dad trusted me when I hung out with my friends. He never gave me lectures on drugs or alcohol. He just trusted me and my choices.

thuddy1855

14. A good work ethic is important.

My Dad used to have a board up in our kitchen that had laundry clips on it the clip would have a note in it with some cash and whoever did it got the cash. Note would be like do the laundry and have 5 bucks attached. I used to do it all and my sister would get bummed there wouldn’t be any money for her so id pay her to eat weird things like leaves.

I have my own landscaping business and my daughter who is only 3 has been working for me already. I pay her by the hour to pick up sticks and to pull leaves out of flowerbeds and such. Easy light work I know she can handle. She loves it and gets a bit of money for it as well as saves me some time on jobs. Plan on teaching her how to use equipment as she gets older like weed whackers and mowers and then tractors. Would love to be able to bring my kids in as business partners when they come of age to make big decisions, need to teach them customer relations and how to do all the jobs before and will start them all young so they have pocket change to go by goofy crap with.

Smokeya

15. Good for you?

My parents created a “potty chart”. Every time I went in the toilet instead of pull-ups, I got a star sticker. Whenever I got so many stars, I’d get a prize. Now I always poop and pee in the toilet.

CaterpillarFart

16. 90% of the time is pretty good.

My dad told me to work hard and I would earn my way up, and he gave me a pretty accurate explanation of being on time: If I’m early, I’m on time. If I’m on time, I’m late, and if I’m late I’m fired. I haven’t always been perfect, but I’m early 90% of the time, and call if I think I’m going to be late.

ShindeTsuku

Continue onto the next page for more!

17. Yeah, those people are jerks.

During sophomore year, I was having problems with some friends because a friend of theirs was awful. I didn’t like him because he shoved me into a wall (I’m a female), he said racist crap all of the time (he acted serious at the time, but when he saw how pissed I was, he quickly said it was a joke).

I pretty much hated this guy and my friends always got really irritated with him, but kept him around even though he treated us all like crap. Anyway, when I was complaining about how my friends showed little to no emotions about him shoving me into a wall, my mom told me, “People will clearly tell you how they are going to treat you.” Which basically meant, that if someone is treating me badly then its not up to me to try to continuously run after them trying to get them to change. If they change, its great but you can’t assume that they will change when they clearly have no intention to. So, now if I have a problem with a person I bring up the issue. If they don’t change then I know I have a decision to make: either accept them as they are or just stay away. That way I am not stuck in unhealthy relationships and spending everyday trying to force people to be who they are not.

[deleted]

18. That’s a good dad.

My father would sometimes let me stay up a little longer to watch football. He would pick a certain moment (30th minute) for me to go the bed. One time, he didn’t notice (or pretended not to notice) this moment had already come. When I pointed this out, he let me watch a little longer for being honest.

LaMareeNoire

19. Makes a big difference if you understand that at a young age.

I never had much of an allowance growing up. If I wanted something, I’d have to ask my parents to buy it for me. Oftentimes that meant I got new Nintendo games as a reward for good grades, or like “you and your brother haven’t fought in a while” sort of thing. It helped keep me from growing up spoiled because I could see from a young age that if you want things, you have to earn them.

When I was a little bit older I had part time jobs so that I could buy things myself.

Now I’m 25 and I’m fiercely independent. I look at the choices that my peers make or that other young people make and it just baffles me.

Red_AtNight

20. It’s important to know your limits.

Alcohol.

I think parents who are really strict with alcohol just make it a bigger issue than it should be (story continued on the next page…).

Continue onto the next page for more!

Because I was allowed to have it, and got drunk for the first time at a family party (where they could look after me), I never felt the need to go out in secret like my friends and drink dangerously.

I’m in University and can enjoy alcohol casually, but know my limits when I use it to get drunk on nights out, drinking enough to get just enough drunk and have fun.

[deleted]

21. Clean up after yourself.

As a child my parents always taught me to throw my trash in the wastebasket.

A couple of years ago I was at a Starbucks with a friend and no money for a drink. As she had her smoothie, I played with the paper that had covered her straw and made bits and pieces of it. On my way out I threw out the trash and the barista was so happy I did it, that he gave me a free drink. Apparently, most everyone else just throws their trash on the ground.