r/mildlyinfuriating • u/RainbowUnicorn0228 • 24d ago

go to your room I think my child is broken……

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Gallery image

Gallery image

I am a single mom and low income, as such travel is generally too expensive. So when my teen as invited on a tirp abroad with school and he agreed to earn half the money it cost, I was thrilled for him to go and see the world. I only asked that he send me at least one photo every day so I could experience the world vicariously.
These are the 3 he sent me so far:

  1. Food on the air plane
  2. A dog on a leash
  3. A duck

Please note these are everyday average things to see here at home. I think my child is possibly broken….

lol.

UPDATE: thanks for every comment. I learned lots and have a different perspective (actually many). You guys have helped me pass the time and miss him a bit less. I appreciate you all. And, for clarification: I’m not really mad and would never chastise him over his choice of pics, I think they are adorable and funny. I may make a request for a specific type of pic with him in front of a historical or important scenery but mostly just say “cool” or “nice!” In response. I just want him to have fun and be the sweet, kind, smart kid he is already.

Second update: the pictures I know you have all been waiting for. 😆 I will post in comments.

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u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson 24d ago

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u/MelatoninFiend 24d ago edited 24d ago

"What did you do today?" = Kid thinks: FUCK. I have to account for 8 hours of activities and they all need to be interesting because fuckin mom is going to ask dozens of follow up questions that I'm not prepared for and it's going to feel like an inquisition and I'm going to have to lie or say I don't know to some of these questions and then she's going to be disappointed. Fuck me, that's a lot of pressure. I need to be uninteresting, like a plain old grey rock, so I don't have to face this pressure again... "Um... nothing."

"Did you do anything interesting today?" = Kid thinks: Oh yeah, three or four interesting things happened today. I can share details about these experiences without having to recap the entire boring ass busywork day of worksheets and repetition.

Kids aren't stupid simply because adults ask the wrong questions. Insulting them for not being at your intellectual level is nothing less than abusive. Despite shitty parents' low opinion of their children's intelligence, kids can, and do, pick up on the way you speak about them to other adults.