Why is it that parents tend to be THE PROUDEST of their MOST REBELLIOUS children

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   gmwilliamsposted 12 years ago

   Why is it that parents tend to be THE PROUDEST of their MOST REBELLIOUS children?

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   kelleywardposted 12 years ago

   Good question, but not ALL parents enjoy this. However, I think the parents who are proud of their most rebellious child do this because their rebellious child reminds them of who they were, or who they wanted to be, when they were young. In a way, I believe these parents enjoy living, a little, through their rebellious child.

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      gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Kelley, I always love to push the envelope and to be a contrarian so to speak.   Many parents are proudest of their most rebellious child because to them, such children have the get up and go that more compliant children seem not to possess!

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   Sunnie Dayposted 12 years ago

   I am not sure if proud is the word I would use when one 1of 4 children decided to give us the most trouble...I think we were more happy when they saw the light per say and changed from a downward spiral. A disobendient child will take so much attention away from the obendient children as all the focus is on the bad not the good. This is a lesson most parents do not know until it is too late. It is hard to ignor bad behavior and we should not but at the same time maybe if more focus is on the good behaviors the one doing the negative things would feel left out, wanting to  do better.

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   nightwork4posted 12 years ago

   i doubt that it is always true but i think in many cases, the most rebellious ones end up being the most successful. me and my parents despised each other when i was a kid but now they tell everyone about how well i'm doing, about how good i am at what i do etc. i do get upset kind of when they try to act like they had some doing in my success because thanks to them, i'm lucky to be alive , never mind moderately successful.

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      gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Nightwork4, see, there YOU GO!

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   duffsmomposted 12 years ago

   That is an excellent question (yours usually are) and I would love to know the answer to that as well. I can remember my husband's father telling stories about my husband misbehaving etc. and he always had this sort of proud smirk on his face as he told the story.
   
   Often parents tell the stories acting as if they are exasperated but you can see in their eyes they are proud of it.  I don't get it.
   
   My oldest grandchild is a little contrary rebel and her mother is NOT proud of it so I guess there are exceptions.

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      gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      To many parents, rebellious children exhibit spunk and get up and go which obedient children do not.    Obedient children do not possess the fire that rebellious children do, pure and simple!

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   calynbanaposted 12 years ago

   I think this would be due to the work they put into that child. As a teacher I find that I become quickly attached to my trouble makers. This is due to how much time and work I need to spend on that particular child. Also when they succeed it often validates the adult for all that work they put in. The child's success feels like the adults success. (Though it isn't really imo).

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   Ranziposted 12 years ago

   Some parents like to produce children that are a mirror of themselves. Maybe this child reminds them of who they are or were.

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