6 Creative Ways Kids Dealt with Life Lessons from Their Parents

As a parent, have you ever tried to teach your child a lesson only for it to backfire? Here are six stories of parents whose children took life lessons their parents tried to teach them to a whole new level.

The difficult job of being a parent comes with the responsibility of passing down valuable life lessons to equip kids with the tools to deal with life's hurdles. However, in the following six situations, kids creatively used these lessons to their advantage.

1. "Compliment People Who Insulted You."

A Redditor explained that she was trying to teach her daughter to "compliment people who insulted you." Her daughter is now 16, but the mother shockingly witnessed her child implement this life lesson when she was four.

The Redditor, her daughter, and her mother were at Burlington Coat Factory in Michigan. The grandmother was shopping for a swimming suit to wear on her trip to Florida. However, she found it difficult to decide because there were not many options to choose from.

As the grandmother was complaining and asking for her daughter's opinion, a woman beside them, trying out a pair of pants, said something rude about her. The Redditor did not realize that her four-year-old had noticed her grandmother's agitation, but she remembered her daughter coming out from behind her and saying to the woman, "Your teeth are so pretty yellow!"

2. The Value of Money

A father wanted to teach his daughter the value of money from a young age. So, he started giving her an allowance and rewarding her for the tasks and chores she completed around the house. Whenever they would go out on weekends, he would give her $5 and explain that it was for all the great work she did around the house.

His daughter was excited that she got to spend the money on anything she wanted but also started saving some of it in her room. One day, after he had just finished reading her bedtime story, he saw his daughter pull out $2 and said it was for being a good dad.

3. Life Is Not Always Fair

A mother got overwhelmed by the number of tantrums she noticed when one got invited to birthday parties, so she started teaching her children that life was not always fair, hoping it would help mellow them down.

One day, the Redditor was playing Tic Tac Toe with her youngest child, and she covered the column she needed to win. The mother told her she would not continue playing because she was being unfair and cheating. But her daughter used her words against her and said, "Life isn't fair, momma."

4. Clean Up After Yourself

A parent shared that her children were begging her for a pet. But she did not want to take on another task of cleaning up after a pet when she already did that for her children. So the Redditor made a deal with her kids that she would only get them a pet if they kept their rooms clean for six months without her reminding them.

The Redditor might have considered it a fair challenge, but her youngest child was a few steps ahead. He cleaned his room, locked it, and moved his clothes and a sleeping bag to the hallway.

5. Do Not Play Video Games Till Late

This Redditor was not a parent but recalled a lesson his father taught him. He explained that his father suspected that he stayed up late playing video games, but he was not.

One day, his father came into his room and told him not to play his "Game Boy Advance" past bedtime because he needed to rest. Instead of doing as he was told, the Redditor realized he could play his game till late.

The father was right about prioritizing his rest because the son admitted he had been dealing with insomnia ever since.

6. The Dangers of Gambling

This Redditor remembered the days he was a "cub scout," and he and his parents would attend many fundraisers. The exciting part about these events was the raffles and the different prizes. A pool table was the biggest reward, and the Redditor was determined to bring it home.

At the time, he only received an allowance of $2 a week, but he needed $12 to buy as many raffle tickets as possible to increase his chances of winning. So, the Redditor asked for a six-week advance on his allowance.

His parents saw this as an opportunity to teach him about the dangers of gambling money. They warned him that there was a possibility he would not win the prize, meaning he would not be given any money for a while because he needed to learn from his decision to risk money he did not have. The Redditor understood, but he ended up winning the pool table.

If you enjoyed this, here is a story about two sisters who executed the perfect "parent trap."