Some say that learning from one's mistakes is wisdom. If you try to teach someone using this wisdom, is that not good and noble?
When a parent who used drugs, or alcohol, or had sex too young tries to teach his or her kids not to do those things, why is that parent so often labeled a hypocrit in our society?
I would say the parent would run the risk of being called out a hypocrit if making the same mistake more than once/ongoing while telling children "do as I say not as I do." One time mistake, not in the realm of murder, rape, etc... excluded.
Learning from your own mistakes improves intelligence, learning from the mistakes of others is what causes wisdom.
I'd have to say that a parent who teaches their child based on their own bad judgement is speaking from experience rather than some abstract learned from a book or well meaning propaganda on tv, that makes them smart and their children wise for listening to them instead of repeating the mistakes. They're certainly not a hypocrite since a hypocrite preaches "Do as I say, not as I do."
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Kevin Haendiges
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As a high school teacher, I've heard some pretty unbelievable things from students. like "My mom buys me cigarettes," or "My parents bought the beer for my party," or "I smoked pot with my dad last night while we watched the game..."
One frequent explaination of this that I hear from the kids is, "My parents did it when they were in high school, and they don't want to be hypopcrits or anything, so they let me do whatever they did..."
I have even heard a student brag about fighting with their partents ... "whenever they try to tell me I can't do something, I just bring up their past, and they shut up about it."
Location: land of the Lilliputians, In the state of insanity
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RE: Parenting, wisdom, hypocrisy
etothepii
Public education is a scary place. Ive had kids taken out of class to go party with parents. Had a young lady taken out of class to go get liquired up with her mom (not told this, but it was well known) so that she could indure the pain of a toungue piercing and a tatoo.
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kaafir mushrik
Unintended consequences and God have one thing in common: Liberals don’t believe in either of them.
We're all human, and we all do stupid things. I don't believe that so-called hypocrisy is worse than outright stupidity.
My parents told me not to do some things, knew I was going to anyway, and so they focused on getting me to at least think first. Even if you don't abstain from this activity or that, it is wise to consider takingwhatever precautions are available. Parents have to live in reality or else they'll be virtually ineffective as mentors.
We're all human, and we all do stupid things. I don't believe that so-called hypocrisy is worse than outright stupidity.
My parents told me not to do some things, knew I was going to anyway, and so they focused on getting me to at least think first. Even if you don't abstain from this activity or that, it is wise to consider takingwhatever precautions are available. Parents have to live in reality or else they'll be virtually ineffective as mentors.
IMO, it's largely lazy parenting. Puting limits on kids and enforcing them is hard work. It requires constant attention and diligence. These parents cop-out of this duty under the excuse "I did it, so I can't stop them from doing it."
Parenting, wisdom, hypocrisy
