15 People Who Were Raised By ‘Good Parents’ Share What Their Parents Did Right

When you’re younger, it feels like everything your parents do is to annoy you. You might talk behind their backs and “hate” them in your younger years, but as you get older, you realize that their actions are out of their love for you and your best interests.

In a recent Reddit thread, people are praising what their parents actually did right. Let’s clap for these moms and dads!

  1. Being Supportive, Even if They Don’t Agree

    “The biggest one that sticks out to me is that they’re supportive of things my brother and I like even when they don’t understand or like it. They didn’t really care for skateboarding, but they spent hundreds of dollars over the years for my brother to enjoy his hobby. They not only helped me get a drum set, but allowed the band to hold practice in our basement and drove us to all our shows. They wanted me to be a lawyer, but they were willing to settle for line cook. It made a difference in the long run, because eventually it helped me realize that I get to make my own choices in life – nothing is laid out for me. I can do whatever I enjoy, and my parents will be there for me, cheering me on.”

  2. Not Sheltering

    “They never sheltered me. That covers everything from seeing the diversity of society (rich, poor, healthy, sick, etc.) to experiencing my own personal disappointments (losing in sports, saying no when asked to buy me a new video game, etc.). I was allowed to grow as an individual. They are always there for support when I needed it, but I was never coddled or protected from things.”

  3. Apologizing if They Messed Up

    “I remember one time my mom said something that hurt my feelings (really not serious but to a 7-year-old it was) and she apologized. Like a real apology. I learned that my parents weren’t perfect but that they were trying their best. I gained a lot of respect from them watching that example my entire life.”

  4. Explaining Their Actions

    “Taught respect, never played favorites. But the biggest thing was they always explained their actions and we’re willing to discuss why, and occasionally even change their mind. It was never ‘no because I said so.’”

  5. Prioritizing Family Dinners

    “It didn’t always work with a busy schedule but more often than not we had dinner as a family to talk and bond. Some of the most important things I have learned in life were learned around the family table.”

  6. They Led By Example

    “My parents never expected things out of me that they didn’t live by themselves. Whether it was something as simple as being open and honest to our entire family or something more complicated like living within your means, budgeting, and treating all people with total kindness. It’s a lot easier as a kid to look-up to your parents when they live their daily lives by the same values they taught me.”

  7. Teaching How to Budget

    “We would earn $1 a week in allowance when we were younger. We would get 10 dimes and then have to divide it out. 1 dine to charity, 4 dimes to savings, and 5 dimes to us. We learned how to budget and save up for what we wanted and how to pay ourselves by creating savings accounts.”

  8. Doing Age-Appropriate Chores

    “The chores were always appropriate to our skill level and age but we did them nonetheless. For example, when I was in kindergarten I had to unload the plastic items and silverware (not knives) from the dishwasher every night. At 8 my dad taught me how to mow the lawn and that was my special Saturday chore during the summer. The list goes on and on. They did the bulk of the around home chores but they taught us to take responsibility for our homes and also how to do chores.”

  9. Complimenting On More Than Looks

    “We were complimented on our work ethic, our kindness, our intelligence, our diligence, etc. The compliments were given heavily to things we worked on to improve. Yes they compliment us on our looks but they wanted us to know we were more than what we were born with.”

  10. Disciplining in Private

    When we were in trouble, they didn’t punish us in front of our siblings. If you were in trouble it was private and between you and mom and dad.”

  11. Experience the Consequences of Actions

    ‘I remember once I forged my mom’s signature on a form to get a treat at school. I was in first grade. I did a very poor job as I wrote ‘Mom’ instead of her name. My teacher called my mom to let her know and my mom told her, ‘you’re the teacher and I give you permission to punish her according to your classroom rules, I won’t argue it.’ So I didn’t get to go to recess that day. I learned a solid lesson about accountability and honesty. They didn’t punish us unjustly or unnecessarily but they gave us consequences to our actions.’

  12. Setting a Good Example

    “Most Saturdays were spent helping families in the area move, mowing other people’s lawns, helping fix plumbing, shoveling snow, raking leaves, dropping off meals to families with new babies, etc., etc., etc. They taught us to be good people and to care about others.”

  13. Encouraging Reading

    “My parents easily have over 1000 books in their home and they have downsized in recent years. We were surrounded by books of every kind and every genre: biographies, fantasy, westerns, religious works, children’s books, etc. It allowed us to learn a lot about everything and really prepared us for schoolwork.”

  14. Being Exceptionally Fair

    “Any conflict would be solved by sitting down and having me evaluate multiple perspectives. If we could reason through an issue and it appeared someone had indeed treated me poorly/done the wrong thing and I was ’in the right,’ he would give me credit for that but then still work with me to find a way to resolve the issue with the other person.”

  15. Being Proud No Matter What

    “When I failed my first year at university, they didn’t get angry or upset. My mom sat down next to me while I was bawling my eyes out in shame and hugged me until I calmed down. She said it wasn’t the end of my life, and that she was, and always will be, proud of me.”

What thing did your parents do right?