People reveal the things every parent should tell their children

When it comes to childcare, one of the biggest responsibilities involved is raising one's child to be a well-rounded, contributing member of society. From social etiquettes and strong moral values to skills development and survival, the young depend on those who birthed them to prepare them for the big world out there. However, textbooks can only teach so much. More often than not, the circumstances in which a child is raised plays a crucial role in shaping their personality as an adult. This could perhaps be explained by the fact that children pick up a lot from their parents by the simple act of observation and imitation.

However, traditional parenting tropes leave out many of these crucial life lessons and traits, putting parents into stoic molds that reveal very little about themselves. Redditor SaladSlayer00 sought to figure out some of these important things that some parents neglect to tell their children and Reddit delivered. Here's how 24 Redditors answered their question "What's something that every parent should tell their child?": 

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"Be kind. You never know what someone might be going through" and "I love you." — nerdyflower03 

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"If you make a mistake and need help, come to me. Kids tend to make bad situations worse by trying not to get caught. I know way too many people who got in drunk driving accidents because they were too afraid to call their parents for help and drove home or got in the car with a drunk driver." — xandrenia

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"If anyone ever tells them, “This will be our little secret,” especially if it involves physical contact, my child needs to get as far away from that person ASAP, find a trusted adult, and contact me. My child will know they will not be in trouble for telling and I will always believe them." — Midas_Artflower

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"The proper terminology for their genitals. Other adults aren't always going to know what your kid means when they say 'someone played with my monkey or my tutu,' and predators aren't going to call them by the proper names either, so it's another deterent for abuse to occur. Vagina, Penis, Vulva, Testicles- these are not dirty words people." — jebelle87 

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"Whenever another kid is being mean to them, physically or verbally, don't tell your child that the other kid was being mean to them because they like your child. Your child might grow up mistaking abuse for affection." — chickenstockandchili

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"It’s important to be kind, but you don’t need to be everyone’s best friend. Some ppl are just not going to like you, and that’s okay - it goes both ways. Also being a kid/teenager is fucking hard work. It gets so much better after high school, I promise." — AliCracker

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"Be careful with your choice of friends." — Sergey54nsk

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"'I appreciate your input. You won't always be right and what you say won't always change my mind but I still value your opinion.' Communicate with your kid, most of the time you will know better than they will but at least listen to what they have to say. Remember to also keep an open mind and be willing to compromise." —Aussieboi393 

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"You will always be my child, and I’ll always want to take care of you, but you have the right to ask me to let go when you feel the time is right. If you try to make it on your own but fall, call me anyway. I want to be there to catch you." — Nimezs

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"Maybe not 'your life is too easy, you have nothing to be depressed about.'" — seanotron_efflux 

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"The world is a f**ked up place. People are going to hate you for the sake of hating you, and spit on you for what you believe. What I want you to know is I’ll always support you. And I’ll never be disappointed in what you do with your life as long as you love it." — thatoneshotgunmain 

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"Your low academic performance does not mean you'll be a failure in life." — maroonmerin