Warning Signs Your Child May Become A Toxic Adult

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a day ago

Let's be honest, it seems like every year, more and more awful people walk amongst us. On the always back-and-forth subreddit r/AskReddit, Reddit user u/Winter_Ganache1919 asked: What are the signs that a child is going to grow up to be a bad person? Here are just some of the top responses that will have any parent taking notes:
"They enjoy the suffering of others."
"No empathy, constant lying, and hurting others for fun are major red flags for a bad future."
"Keep in mind, children and even adults can grow out of bad environments and habits. But especially young people. I would say a lack of empathy and remorse should be at the top of the list. However, some very malevolent personalities can act remorseful but truly feel none. And it's not uncommon for adults to say sorry but not want to understand what and why they did wrong."
"Entitlement, and when they're downright bullying someone, the parents brush it off, saying, 'they're just kids' and making it look like they're the only kids in the whole world who can do absolutely no wrong!"
"Kids who have not learned that you can't always get your way. It's a domino effect of being awful in friendships, relationships, jobs, and so on."
"When their parents are shit. I just went through the school years with my son, who is now 19. I've known so many of his friends and their parents through sports and school. You start to get a vibe around fifth grade as to why the kid is going off the rails, and it almost always comes back to the parents. It breaks my heart. Some of these kids had sweet souls and were ruined by parents with addictions, mental illness, or wild religious beliefs."
"There's an interesting documentary called Seven Up!. It interviews children at the age of 7, then 14, then 21, and so on and so forth. Without exception, the kids who were shitty 7-year-olds grew up to be shitty adults. It's important to raise kids that you like."
"As a (semi) professional, I can say that there is a lack of regulation. It genuinely seems like the root problem in so many children I see. As small child, they cry or experience issues and require regulation being taught to them, but instead, they are met with verbal abuse and/or neglect by the caregiver. It's an unfortunate cycle for both parent and child as neither ever gets to experience true comfort and is unable to cope with the NORMAL deficits or sh*t scenarios life throws in your face."
"Lack of empathy."
"Constant lying without remorse."
"Cannot emotionally regulate, does not bond with others, lacks empathy, has no remorse, is fully gleefully disruptive and violent."
"They have no consequences for their actions. If their parents never punish them and always get them off the hook when they get in trouble, they'll grow up believing nothing they do is wrong."
"Not being raised with warmth or love is a big one, IMO. I see it in a lot of kids where I live. There's a strange lack of warmth within the community, with no empathy or emotional intelligence among anyone, starting with the adults and then, as a result, the kids too, and the kids end up behaving like little bullies towards each other. I think that lack of warmth and love is a big sign a kid is gonna grow up with emotional problems that'll lead to all kinds of other issues."
"They do not understand the word NO. Or think that boundaries don't apply to them. Or that flouting rules laid down is fun."
"A Lack of discipline, lying a lot and thinking they're getting away with it, and having parents who are enablers."
"I knew this girl at school who threw her weight around, was just nasty to everyone, and knew she could get away with it because her dad was chief of police; he'd pull any strings. I've never been one for holding grudges from that age because I think we're all different people now, but if I were going to guess, I don't think she became a very nice adult."
"Kids who don't learn the consequences of their actions."
"When parents are overly nice and let their child get away with things. You end up with a spoiled child that is also mentally fragile."
"A friend's kid came around and told me my house was a sh*t hole. She also interrupts adults, turns every conversation into something about her when they're talking, and makes snarky remarks when you go around to her dad's house, like, 'Urgh, what are you doing here?' Doesn't help that her father doesn't tell her off, though I fully believe she's going to be a bully if she's not already."
"Habitually starting fires. If it's one time, that's just a kid being a kid, but when it becomes a pattern, it's a huge red flag."
"Something I never really see mentioned is having a traumatic brain injury at a young age. In all of the books I've read about true crime, and especially serial killers, a traumatic brain injury at a young age is a common thread. Now, I'm not saying every child who experiences one will turn out to be a monster, but it might be a thing to keep an eye on as they get older."
"Toxic friends/community. You can do everything in the world to raise them correctly, but their friends and surroundings have the most lasting impact and, unfortunately, you can't do anything about it outside of moving them away from a toxic environment."
And lastly, here's a more positive perspective: "Every time I say this, I get downvoted into oblivion, but all children are salvageable. I worked with some really poorly behaved kids (to the point of being criminally liable). I saw these kids really turn themselves around. I wish that all adults who work with kids wouldn't give up hope. There's always hope for children."
What do you think are signs of an "awful human being" in the works? Comment below!