People Are Revealing What They Think Screams "Trashy Parent," And I Need To Know If You Find Them Sensible Or Overdramatic
Even if you don't have a child, chances are you probably think you know what makes a "good" or "bad" parent.
Reddit user u/odeus120 asked, "What screams trashy parents?" And people had A LOT of thoughts. Here's what they had to say:
1."Mothers who see their son's girlfriends as competition."
2."Many years ago when I worked at Walmart, parents would routinely 'drop off' their kids in the toy department and then just walk through the store or, worse, go across the street to eat out or shop. So it wasn't unusual to see numerous unsupervised kids just wrecking the toy and sporting goods department. I once fussed at a manager to do something about a pair of kids who had put together a bunch of pool noodles and were running down aisle after aisle, just clearing the shelves and knocking shit to the floor. The manager pulled the kids aside; the parents showed up and yelled at the kids. The manager came to me and went, 'Well, I hope you feel better. You made me ruin that kid's night.'"
3."Cussing out the officials at a Little League game. Telling your child to punch another player they tripped over."
"I coached T-ball for kids who were pre-K to second grade. I had a mother inches from my face screaming at me because I asked her child to sit down for an inning...because he was hitting kids in the head (with a helmet on) with a bat. It was one of the wildest things that I had happen to me. Not the last, though."
4."When their kids could literally set the world on fire and they'll blame anyone else to avoid responsibility."
5."Parents who use their kids to get likes on TikTok."
6."When the kids are sick and contagious, but the parent(s) want a night out and don't tell their childcare provider their kids are sick."
"I was the babysitter in this situation. I had watched a friend's kids over a weekend and a few days later, I was talking to her, telling her I thought I had come down with something. That's when she said, 'Oh yeah, my kids have strep throat.' Thanks a lot."
7."Parents who act like providing bare necessities is some kind of favor or debt to be repaid."
8."Posting videos of your child having a meltdown while you mock them."
"My dad used to do this to me. He’d record me and laugh. I'm married to my first boyfriend and really happy with two girls. My dad cries to my mom because he can’t see them. There’s no way in this world that I would expose my daughters to someone as hateful as him."
9."Letting siblings pick on each other or goading one into hurting the other someway. I’ll never forget the time I was at a moderately crowded small park. A little 3- to 5-year-old was following me around as I played with my little one. I saw his family around so I didn’t engage with him too much. I figured they would be over soon. But as I was standing there, I heard the kid just bust out crying. Like, soul crying. I quickly turn around and see the kid, pants’d, with what I assume was an older sister standing behind him and laughing. The kid was easily 13? 14? I look over at the family, sitting about 10 feet away, and they are all just laughing uproariously. Mom was almost falling off the bench."
"I had no idea what to do. This poor kid was traumatized, obviously. It happens normally based on his reaction (do nothing, don’t ask for affection, don’t run to mom for help). I was disgusted. I stared at the sister with pure hate in my eyes, and she finally bent down and pulled his pants back up. Mom wouldn’t look me in the eye. But they just walked away from the kid with no hug and no care. It broke my heart to walk away from him. Trashy-ass people."
10."This one’s more subtle but even if the kids seem relatively okay in appearance, their pets are neglected. As in, someone’s feeding the dog but no one’s bothered to train it, chip it, or do anything other than yank on its collar and scream when it misbehaves. Not only are those parents probably doing the absolute bare minimum shy of looking trashy for their kids but they’re also not bothering to teach them about caretaking, responsibility, or having empathy for living things that belong to them."
11."Coming from retail, barefoot children. Even the most questionable moms would put socks on their kids' feet but the ones who would argue with staff or get physical over perceived offenses would have a kiddo with bare feet."
12."Letting your teenager smoke cigarettes. Growing up, I had a few friends with parents like that and I thought they were awesome at the time. As I got older, I realized that they were massive pieces of shit."
13."Talking to others about your humiliating moments."
14."As a teacher, anytime the parent blocks the school’s number. What if your kid is dying? What if there’s truly an emergency?"
15."Social media influencers whose entire content is their children. People who publicly punish their kids online. Parents who give out way too many details about their children, giving them lack of privacy. Child exploitation at its finest."
16."Having a favorite child."
17."Parents who let their kids kick the ever-living shit out of the seat in front, pretend not to see anything, and then get angry at you for asking them to stop their kid."
18."Swearing at their young children in public. I've witnessed this a few times but the one that stands out in my mind is a mother calling her son a 'motherfucker' for not listening to her. The kid couldn't have been more than 5. If she didn't know better in public, what's this kid got to endure in private?"
19."Kids wearing onesies with adult jokes / sexual implications."
