" Your 8 - year - old should n’t be on TikTok unmonitored or at all . "

Being a teacher these days is undoubtedly one of the most challenging and exhausting professions. Between being severely underpaid and overworked, teachers are choosing toleave their jobsat an alarming rate. Recently, redditoru/Holdtheline2192asked teachers of ther/Teacherscommunity toshare one truththey wish they could tell American parents today with no repercussions. Here are some of the opinions they shared below.

1.“Please read to your kids. Take them to the library. Sign them up for summer reading programs. Give them books instead of tablets. Help them find material that is suited to their interests. Remedial reading programs can help, but a lack of home support for developing literacy is the root of the problem.”

2.“Your 8-year-old shouldn’t be on TikTok unmonitored or at all.”

— uranium / Bluesky0089

" My ex ’s little baby was this precise child . She could navigate TikTok like no other . But if you asked her to read , write , or weigh past 10 , she could n’t do any of it . And my ex-husband ’s female parent see no issue with that at 8 geezerhood one-time . "

— uracil / IntensePond

A father reads a book to his young daughter who is sitting on his lap. They are in a cozy living room near a staircase

3.“You didn’t just have a ‘baby.’ You are raising a future adult who will need to be self-sufficient, responsible, polite, tolerant, and caring. Stop babying your kids! Teach them how to tie their shoes and that they aren’t always right or in charge!”

4.“Your kid is lying to you.”

— uracil / Standard_Earth5931

" I have had shaver whobraggedto me about how they lie to their parent and get away with it because their parents always consider them . And then they play shocked when their teachers do n’t flow for their B and call them out on it . They also work aghast when I do n’t believe their B despite the fact that they have bragged to my face about how they oft and casually lie .

I ’ve brought this up to them before . They just stare at me and have nothing to say . It ’s mind - boggling . I lied sometimes as a kid . We all did . But I do n’t recall any of us being this blatant and dumb about it . "

A smiling parent gives a piggyback ride to a laughing child wearing a striped shirt. Both have mid-length hair partially covering their faces

— u / justwantedbagels

5.“We can’t fix your failures as a parent.”

6.“Just because I’m a professional doesn’t mean you can scream at me.”

— uranium / Dizzy_Negotiation_71

7.“You’re the parent. Being a parent means you make the hard decisions. An elementary school child does not need the responsibility of deciding what to eat — you provide healthy food. They don’t need the responsibility of deciding what to study — you sit down with them and help them learn. They don’t need to decide if they take their medicine — you make that decision. You decide bedtime. You decide on screen time. Children cannot make these choices yet because they are children. They need the responsibility of deciding on broccoli or peas, bikes or the park, whichbook to readtogether, and which shirt to wear. So many parents seem to think ‘gentle parenting’ means letting them make all the choices, and it just isn’t. Grown-ups have to be grown-ups and do the hard things so kids can be healthy and safe.”

8.“Please teach your kids basic manners and etiquette. The fact that I have to teach 14-year-olds about simple ‘please,’ ‘thank you’ is mind-boggling.”

— uranium / Competitive_Face2593

9.“It’s pay now or pay later when it comes to disciplining your kids. By the time you figure that out, they won’t be in school anymore.”

10.“You were likely not parented well, and now the cycle is continuing with you not parenting your child appropriately. It’s going to take some serious effort to correct this. It will not be fun, but it will be worth it for both of you (and our society).”

— atomic number 92 / starstruck412

11.“Stop doing your kid’s work for them. It helps no one.”

12.“We are employees, and much of what we do is dictated to us. If you don’t think Starbucks should put iced coffee in plastic cups because it’s bad for the environment, don’t yell at the barista. (And don’t go on social media to tell everyone what a moron she is.) Parents often assume teachers have more power than we actually do.”

— u / iwant2saysomething2

" In the other way , I ’ve attempt to get so many kids intervention and peculiar education assistance through the tier system that gets totally denied unless parents advocate . Unfortunately , we teachers have very little say and power over what ’s best for our bookman . I wish well parent know how much power they held to help their children who might be skin . "

— u / Fun_Entrepreneur8652

A mother and teen talking at a kitchen table. The teen with pink hair looks upset; the mother, with curly hair and glasses, appears concerned

13.“Your kid needs to see an addiction specialist. They can’t put the screens away.”

14.“Stop trying to be friends with your kids. You can be ‘friendly’ to your kids; minors don’t have to be treated like transactional trash, which was (arguably) a prevalent parenting style with a disproportionate number of parents in years gone by. However, kids need structure and boundaries, so firm but fair is acceptable. Hold them accountable and set the bar high.”

" Make kids accept obligation for their mistakes and stop fault everyone else or can inculpation when it squarely lies on them for make poor option .

Read to them and with them at vernal old age . Instill in them a love life of learning . Please give them a loving and supportive home surround and go away your toxic hurt out of their domain . "

— u / Another_Opinion_1

A woman and a young girl study together at a table covered with books, notebooks, and stationery in a well-lit room with large windows

15.“You are actively harming your child’s well-being and development by not getting them the help and support that all of us educators, counselors, psychs, etc., are begging you to get. You may think your 10-year-old is using the Internet responsibly, but I promise you, they are not. I have yet to meet a single parent who understands Discord, game/streaming chats, etc. You have no idea what your kid is doing online.”

16.“I cannot teach at school what you don’t encourage at home. If you expect to send your child to school in order for them to ‘be a better person,’ yet you mistreat them at home, then you get what you give. I can’t teach a student whose parent doesn’t value their kid or their kid’s education. If your kid fails my class, don’t get mad at me when YOU’VE been telling them, ‘[insert subject here] doesn’t matter.’ I’m not fighting the apathy that YOU, AS A PARENT, put in your kid’s head. My ‘passion’ won’t compete with it.”

— uracil / midnitebluboo

17.“Tell your kids ‘no,’ and tell them often. No, they don’t need a ‘yes’ day. No, it will not traumatize them. Tell them ‘no,’ and get them used to it — NOW, like, right now!”

18.“Society has failed families, and the teachers and the education system are the only ones still trying to put up a fight. We’re tired. Be nicer to us.”

— u / stillpacing

If you’re a teacher, what’s one hard truth you think parents today need to hear? Comment below or fill outthis anonymous form.

Note : Some responses may have been edit out for length / clarity .

A father gently disciplines his young daughter who sits on a couch, looking attentive

A father with a beard, wearing a casual shirt, helps his young son with curly hair, who is writing in a notebook at a kitchen table

A child wearing a pink shirt and dark overalls holding and looking at a smartphone

A person wearing a hoodie and headphones is sitting at a desk, engaged in playing a video game on a computer with multiple screens

Mother and son talking outside, with the mother placing her hand on the boy's shoulder. The boy has his arms crossed, looking down