And now some evidence that some forms of bad parenting leave permanent mental scars:

http://articles.philly.com/2013-12-12/news/45082911_1_brain-development-child-poverty-joan-luby


I vote that we add a class to teach high school students to keep their rooms clean! :)

I agree with Bill's reply (realizing it doesn't necessarily conflict with what I think your views are...I think)

The problem with "harsh parenting" is any measurement of it. Yes, there are some parents who are consistently and excessively harsh. I (unfortunately) have photographic long-term memory, which means I remember how my father abused (both physically and mentally) my younger brother who suffered from mild Tourette's. Though I'd love to say that I've erased all that childhood stuff and that "I'm my own man", to this day it has impacted both my brother and myself , though in very different ways.

Last night I found out that Katy (my four and a half year old daughter) hid something from me and then didn't tell me the truth, because she was afraid and didn't want me to know about it. Some parents would get indignant about their kid lying to them - I want to focus on talking to her to see why she felt she had to lie. Somewhere in the fog there is a line between kids truly fearing their parents and kids respecting their parents. Maybe I'm still an idealist but I have to believe there's a difference. If I create undue stress for my kid then I have failed.