7 Ways to Know If You Are a Toxic Parent (and What to Do About It)
Most people are not intentionally toxic. Rather, the way we have grown up, the relationships we have, or our own temperaments can allow bad habits to creep into our parenting relationships, which can negatively affect our long-term relationships with children. This is one of the (many) problems associated with this role – we cannot always determine exactly how we are acting at a given moment. We may not know for years whether we are raising happy, healthy, balanced young people or not.
Even if we are perfect, which is an impossible standard, success (however you define it) is not guaranteed. But there are ways to stack the deck in our favor – starting with getting rid of any toxicity that has seeped into our lifestyles. If you see yourself in any of them, you are not alone. We’ve all done this to some degree to some extent. Everyone has had bad days. Children are both hardy and forgiving, and there is always time to correct the course. The first step is to identify the areas requiring a reboot.