Seven Things Some Lebanese Parents are Doing Totally Wrong
It’s pretty obvious that bad parenting instills a lifetime of bad habits in children. Thankfully, this generation of parents in Lebanon has generally become more educated, aware and alert (there’s a “but” making its way through… wait for it).
But despite that, there are still some terrible parenting habits happening, and although we laugh hysterically when a small car with a family of ten people and a cassette of Ali Deek blasting out the stereo drives past, we all know it’s wrong. Let’s take a look at the worst of the worst:
It’s not uncommon to see parent’s smoking casually in front of their children – heck, even in front of their baby. Heck, even when they’re pregnant. What’s funnier is that when their kids grow up, they ban them from smoking cigarettes (although, secondhand smoke is just as bad as firsthand), but allow them to smoke hookah.
Because, bta3rif, hookah isn’t ten times worse than cigarettes. In fact, hookah has become so normalized that Hookah Sunday is like family bonding time. Lol.
This one just breaks my heart. There is definitely nothing more humiliating than a parent hitting their child in public – and no, it’s not the child that’s humiliated. It’s the parent that is.
(Jk, it’s the child that’s humiliated but that sounded pretty good in my head) Although this is highly debatable, hitting, on its own, is a terrible thing. But when you hit a child in public?
Oh, I could spend years writing books upon books and academic articles on the prevalence of double standards in Lebanon. To throw one example at you: a son can party until two in the morning because, you know, he’s a dude. But a daughter? No, she has to be good and stay at home so the neighbors don’t call her a faltani.
You don’t believe in your kids partying until 2:00 a.m.? Fair enough – then, both of them should stay home. Treat your son and daughter in the same manner – that’s all I’m saying.
6. Forcing Your Kids to Finish Their Plate of Food
Parents here tend to force their children to finish their plate of food, even if there is no longer any space in their stomachs to accommodate an extra wara’ 3’inab (sounds impossible I know, but it happens, I swear).
That one bite can make a difference in weight gain and this is an issue parents should treat carefully; health and nutrition should be more important than stuffing your face to make your momma happy.
7. Taking the Entire Family on a Motorcycle Outing
Whenever I see this, I don’t know whether to cry or laugh, so I usually end up craughing. It really is quite sad. But that family of five does seem to be having a blast when they’re cruising around Raouche on a motorcycle that’s supposed to accommodate two people.