Paranoid Parents - either you are or you had them stories

[wishuponastarforever]

I drove my poor children crazy.

If they wanted to go to the beach, I'd warn about rip tides or sharks.
If it was the lake, alligators would be on my mind.
How about camping - visions of bears danced in my head.
I could not help myself the thoughts and warnings were out of my control. Finally we settled on "wear your helmet". It summed up all the unpleasant thoughts in my mind but kept my mouth shut and my children still knew to be careful.


What paranoia has haunted you or your family?

 

[poohandwendy]

None, I am not paranoid parent and wasn't raised by any. But, my best friend is...holy cow, she can think up the worst nightmares!!! She worries about EVERYTHING...I think it gives her a feeling of control, like if she has thought of 'it', it won't happen...

I, OTOH, am a 'cup is half full' type of person...if it's gonna happen, oh well, nothing i can do to control it....we drive each other CRAZY! I figure in about 30 years we both should be well adjusted adults....or in a loony bin...at least we will be together...

 

[luvmarypoppins]

My kids youth group leader always thinks I was paranoid for never letting my ds go to their trips which were always in 15 passenger vans. Well this christmas there was a tragic accident that killed and severly injured some kids from a local lutheran school and now the youth group leader rents a bus to far away places. I dont care what he thinks of me. I do let my ds go off in disney by themselves etc. Sometimes I have to draw the line, they are my kids and I'll protect them as I see fit.

 

[Margie J]

I had one paranoid parent and one non-paranoid, luckily. It all balanced itself out and I could do "kid" things without much of a problem.

My Mom was afraid of water, me going a few blocks away to play, me walking to school alone, me riding a bike or skating, you name it. It was lots of the stuff I loved or wanted to do. I learned as I got older to not tell her I was doing certain things.

 

[battricia]

When I first got my license, my mom would not let me drive after dark. She would also not let me drive on the highway. Finally i think my dad told her she was going to have to let go eventually.

tricia.

 

[mickeyboat]

I had a friend in HS whose parents would not let her make left hand turns while driving. She had to adjust her route to avoid them.

Denae

 

[NMAmy]

Oh, my gosh! I love that about the left hand turns--it must've taken her forever to get anywhere!

I try not to be paranoid with DD, but my cousin began calling her "Careful Caitlin." I didn't notice it till he pointed it out, but I constantly tell her, "Be careful, Caitlin." I've made a real effort to cut that out! I want her to take sensible risks without her mommy holding her back at every turn. It's hard to get a good balance.

 

[snoopy]

Originally posted by poohandwendy
None, I am not paranoid parent and wasn't raised by any. But, my best friend is...holy cow, she can think up the worst nightmares!!! She worries about EVERYTHING...I think it gives her a feeling of control, like if she has thought of 'it', it won't happen...

I, OTOH, am a 'cup is half full' type of person...if it's gonna happen, oh well, nothing i can do to control it....we drive each other CRAZY! I figure in about 30 years we both should be well adjusted adults....or in a loony bin...at least we will be together...

Wow, this is the exact scenario with me and my sister. I'm not sure how she became a paranoid parent, our parents definately were at the other end of that spectrum, having had 9 of us they didn't have time to be paranoid!

 

[ScarlettO]

I STILL drive mine(in College) "up the Wall"....esp. when they are driving a distance.

 

[powellrj]

I have tried not to be a paranoid parent, but my 2 youngest are really paranoid about Sharks ( keep in mind we live in Indiana). It stems from several years ago that they had all the shark attacks on TV. We had gone to New Symna Beach right before all the reports started and they had a wonderful time. Now they didn't even want to sit on the beach at CBR last year. Guys its a man made LITTLE beach, nope no way its a beach and its in Florida. My mom was really paranoid about everything (she still is) and I think it skipped a generation.

 

[tkd lisa]

I just was (and am) the typical "be careful" in a general sense kind of parent.

When my kids were little, they were in a play group (people I took pre-natal exercise with). One of the moms was a "child expert" who worked at our local children's museum. When the kids were about 2 they were all playing on a swingset, and as DD was climbing up the rope wall, I said "be careful." The mom turned to me and said "You know, when you tell your child to be careful, you're telling them that they can't do whatever it is that they're doing. You should never tell your child to be careful." My eyes just bugged out of my head. I was completely speechless. We moved not too long after that, but I can't imagine how that person's kids grew up. That woman had theories on everything known to man.

 

[geffric]

OMG this is so funny.. My boys , age 10 and 13, are going white water rafting this weekend with the scouts and neither DH or I am going with them. So I have been " worrying" to myself , not to them YET, about them falling in the river and getting hurt etc....

Parnoid parent checking in..

 

[honeywolf7]

I think it's because I was hit by a car when I was 5, but I'm paranoid about the kids being around the street and not holding my hand. I won't let either of them let go (my daughter is 7 and my son is 4.)

 

[Serena]

I'm definitely the "be careful and have fun" kinda mom.

 

[southernclass]

I would not say my parents were paranoid but they were concerned. I think there is a fine line between smothering your children and being a loving parent. I don't approve of certain things and I have certain morals and values that they will be raised with. When they are old enough to be one their own then they can make their own choices; but until then, I want to know that I raised my children to fear God and act properly. I don't expect them to just roll over if they have a point though. I am not ashamed of my beliefs and that is how I will raise them.

 

[HollyJoy]

LOL! While I am a bit paranoid of my kids playing out front, I think it's warranted. We do have a child pedophile in the neighborhood, who walks around with a parrot on his shoulder. Now he's an old man, but still. Freaks me out a bit. So, I don't let my kids play out front alone.

 

[CindysGusGus]

When I was in the 5th grade I lived with my granparents and mom in Omaha. There was a boy in the 6th grade that I was aquainted with that was kidnapped and murdered while he was walking to school. I to this day am very paranoid. I wont let my kids play outside without adult supervision at all times.

About 3 years ago I was watching the court channel and I was watching a forensic show. They had crime scene pictures of the little boy I knew. I went into shock. We had heard about what happened when I was 11 but were fortunate enough not to be subjected to it. Being subjected 20 years later did not soften the blow.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by mickeyboat
I had a friend in HS whose parents would not let her make left hand turns while driving. She had to adjust her route to avoid them.

Denae

I can just see this poor kid driving around in "right hand" circles for miles just to avoid a 50 foot left hand turn....

My paranoia is that my kids have a "built in" magnetic attraction to running into the road...DS6 is a "darter", but if we are within 1/4 mile of a busy road, I constantly fuss and fret that he will just make a beeline right into the middle of the road to purposely be hit by a car... I guess it's not a harmful paranoia..

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by tkd lisa
I just was (and am) the typical "be careful" in a general sense kind of parent.

When my kids were little, they were in a play group (people I took pre-natal exercise with). One of the moms was a "child expert" who worked at our local children's museum. When the kids were about 2 they were all playing on a swingset, and as DD was climbing up the rope wall, I said "be careful." The mom turned to me and said "You know, when you tell your child to be careful, you're telling them that they can't do whatever it is that they're doing. You should never tell your child to be careful." My eyes just bugged out of my head. I was completely speechless. We moved not too long after that, but I can't imagine how that person's kids grew up. That woman had theories on everything known to man.

OMG, I say "be careful" all the time! What am I doing to my poor children???LOL

I think that I say it so much for my own benefit. You can't do everything to protect them, so if you say "be careful" you've at least done something..Personally, I don't think my kids even consider what I am saying. They just do what they want anyway..

 

[Keli]

I'm a bit of a paranoid parent. But my fears have always ran in the 'stranger danger' area and not so much into the general fear that my dd would get hurt in some sort of accident. I could handle the kid swinging from the top of the monkey bars ok but I didn't like her getting out of my sight for fear someone might harm her. I think the reason why I was always so paranoid is because Ashli never took precautions on her own. The world is full of good, wholesome people in Ashli's eyes and she'd never considered that there may be folks out there with bad intentions. Thankfully she's matured over the years and I hear things that make me know she uses common sense when she's out alone. She mentioned last semester about getting a friend to walk with her when she needed to walk across her college campus really late one night. Two years ago she'd have made that walk by herself without a thought and gave a hearty greeting to anyone that came by, lol.