The Cringiest Parenting Posts of the Week (December 18, 2023)

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Dec 18, 2023 2:00 PM EST

I never understood parents who are so against their kids having sweets that they'll ban them from eating birthday cake or cookies at other people's parties. I know that it's important to build healthy habits or whatever, but you know what they say about sheltered kids…they are addicted to becoming rebellious teens. If you never let your kid eat cinnamon toast crunch, I promise she will eat three bowls of it for breakfast every day when she gets to some bountiful university dining hall. Too much restriction will backfire.

Parents want to control their kids, and I get why! The world is a scary place, and you want to protect your offspring as best you can. I know this is hard to do, but it's good to lead by example. If you're addicted to stalking your cringey parent peers on Facebook all day, your kid who's addicted to doing the same thing on TikTok won't believe you when you tell them it'll rot their brain. Go figure.