Education is a hot-button issue right now among parents and we see a lot about it in the news.

So you know that the responses you’re about to read from AskReddit users are going to be very interesting!

Let’s check out what they had to say about harmful ideas they believe are being taught to children…in and out of school…

1. Trashy.

“I used to work at a movie theater back in the day and I’ll never forget witnessing a kid pick up their trash on their way out like a responsible person and their mother instructing them to put it back down because it is not their responsibility.

Probably way more harmful things being taught to kids, but the story just came back to my mind.”

2. Not good.

“External validation.

Constantly chasing likes and followers. The unbearable weight of keeping up appearances.

Lives and bodies that aren’t perfect seem to have no value.”

3. Kind of confusing.

“That if you don’t do good in school you won’t or can’t be successful

But at the same time the gravity of how important it is to study

People who study can be successful but it doesn’t guarantee success.

What will make you successful however is being really good at something and practicing it.”

4. Let it all out.

“That crying is bad.

Parents don’t learn to regulate their own emotions and expect their kids to do it. Then they start suppressing crying.

And then they grow to be adults with zero emotional regulation. It’s a cycle.”

5. Yikes.

“That if someone teases/b**lies you, that person may like you.

Basically teaching kids at a young age that it’s ‘ok’ when someone is being mean and rude to you.”

6. Good point.

“That staying quiet means good behavior.

When you get into most businesses and careers it’s the opposite.

Extroverts and kids who learned to navigate social interactions do way better and I think there was actually some data to back up the idea that employers will hire an under qualified person if they’re attractive and extroverted.”

7. Hmmm…

“Teaching them they’re responsible for how other people feel.

“Mommy is so sad you won’t hug her”.

Child then feels obligated to hug her to make her feel better. Think about what this means as an adult…”

8. Question authority.

“That it’s bad to question authority.

We had some pretty sh**ty teachers that were all about that power.

Made me resent authority for a while.”

9. Be quiet!

“”What you think doesn’t matter”.

I’m a pre-K teacher and I try my best to listen with as much concentration and respect to the children as I would do with adults.

It’s not possible 100% of the time but I try to say I will get back to them if I can’t engage properly in the moment. I want to show them through my behaviour that what they think and feel matters.”

10. Knock it off.

“That anyone you spend time with of the opposite s** is automatically your boy/girlfriend. Instills the idea that you can only be friends with those of the same gender as you, which is messed up.

“What did you do at break time today?”

“I had fun playing with Sarah.”

“Oooh, is Sarah your girlfriend?””

11. Enough of that.

“Overworking yourself to d**th.

Since middle school teachers told me that middle school was stressful (2 hours of homework a night, which for me was more like 4 hours, this is after an 8 hour school day) to prepare you for high school, which was to prepare you for college, which was to prepare you for “the real world,” where you are supposed to be stressed and overworked for the rest of your life.

The “real world” does not need to be stressful! It is society that makes it so, hence the incredibly high incidence of anxiety and depression. Why are we teaching children that they should work over 40 hours a week, and be sleep deprived and constantly stressed, instead of teaching a healthy work-life balance?”

12. Need more challenges.

“Smart and gifted kids in school aren’t challenged enough.

Those that do very well, even in a specific subject instead of overall, aren’t taught proper work ethic because they excel already and don’t need to work as hard. Since they aren’t challenged early, they don’t learn how to work when challenged, and they end up doing poorly in school later in life.

I know it’s hard to do, but we really need to be aware that we’re setting kids up to fail when we don’t properly challenge them.”

What do you think about this issue?

Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Thanks a lot!