I think it's safe to say that most parents want their kids to grow up to be decent human beings, and many try their best to ensure that happens. But some things are beyond control because, as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. Likewise, you can lead a kid to knowledge but you can't make them think.
Someone once asked, "Parents of terrible people... What was the a moment that you realized your child wasn’t going to be a good person?" and surprisingly, many didn't hold back. They reflected on the times they just wanted to hang their heads in shame at the mess they'd created. We aren't talking about kids who lack basic manners. These tales are so much worse... One person even called their offspring "the great tragedy of my existence." And all we can say is "Ouch!"
Bored Panda has put together a list of the wildest stories about children failing at life in the worst possible way. They're uncomfortable accounts from parents, relatives and others, who watched helplessly as kids grew into horrible people they really weren't proud of. We also explore the red flags that scream "delinquent in the making!" You'll find that info between the images.
#21
I havent really talked about this with anyone before. this may be bit of a rambling mess, and I'm on mobile, but bear with me.
I worry about my step son.
He has had a rough life. He lived with his toxic mother for 8 years before the courts finally placed him with his father and me.
He doesn't do anything crazy, it's just that he lies about every little thing. He lies when there is no reason to lie. It's almost as if he gets a thrill out of it, or he can't help it.
I get that lying is somewhat normal, but he's next-level.
I never know if I should believe him, because I have been fooled by his lies so many times.
He is lacking on empathy, and extremely impulsive, which is a bad combo.
He is not a good student, and his reading and writing skills are that of a third grader, and he is in the 6th grade. We have had him tested for learning disabilities, and the conclusion is always that he is just lazy (which, he is, so...they're not wrong. Still, there has to be something else, but I'm not an expert).
Another thing that really worries me is that he is extremely unstable emotionally. Really minor things will set him off onto fits of rage or into over the top sobbing. It's very strange and kind of scary.
Finally, If he is caught in a lie, or doing something he is not supposed to be doing, he will never admit to it. Everything is always someone else's fault and never his. He will go to extreme lengths to avoid taking responsibility. You could have him on video doing something and he would still refuse to own up to it...it's insanely frustrating and worrisome to me.
So, I worry that he will drop out of school, and turn to crime because it's the easy way out.
I don't *think* he will be violent, but I don't know...he is still young...
I lose a lot of sleep at night worrying about his future, though.
I know we have to play our cards right as parents right now or he will end up getting into a lot of trouble someday. I hope all of my worry is for nothing.
I worry about my step son.
He has had a rough life. He lived with his toxic mother for 8 years before the courts finally placed him with his father and me.
He doesn't do anything crazy, it's just that he lies about every little thing. He lies when there is no reason to lie. It's almost as if he gets a thrill out of it, or he can't help it.
I get that lying is somewhat normal, but he's next-level.
I never know if I should believe him, because I have been fooled by his lies so many times.
He is lacking on empathy, and extremely impulsive, which is a bad combo.
He is not a good student, and his reading and writing skills are that of a third grader, and he is in the 6th grade. We have had him tested for learning disabilities, and the conclusion is always that he is just lazy (which, he is, so...they're not wrong. Still, there has to be something else, but I'm not an expert).
Another thing that really worries me is that he is extremely unstable emotionally. Really minor things will set him off onto fits of rage or into over the top sobbing. It's very strange and kind of scary.
Finally, If he is caught in a lie, or doing something he is not supposed to be doing, he will never admit to it. Everything is always someone else's fault and never his. He will go to extreme lengths to avoid taking responsibility. You could have him on video doing something and he would still refuse to own up to it...it's insanely frustrating and worrisome to me.
So, I worry that he will drop out of school, and turn to crime because it's the easy way out.
I don't *think* he will be violent, but I don't know...he is still young...
I lose a lot of sleep at night worrying about his future, though.
I know we have to play our cards right as parents right now or he will end up getting into a lot of trouble someday. I hope all of my worry is for nothing.
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16points
#22
My parents think I'm a good person, and so do I, but definitely my dad took me aside before 8th grade and handed me a pamphlet that said "How to Stop Being a Bully".
15points
#23
I'm a terrible person and my parents probably realized it when I was suspended for stabbing a kid in the shin with a pencil for flicking my ears in 5th grade.
15points
#24
Not a parent, a sibling. Throwaway for obvious reasons.
My older brother very well falls into the "terrible person" category. We had a pretty big age gap, and I missed a lot of what transpired between my parents and my brother, but as I'm aging, I'm starting to understand a lot more. I'm getting pieces of the story from him and our mother, as our father passed away years ago now.
I heard horror stories growing up about my brother, how he hit the cat, or lit the rug on fire, or wet the bed for years and they were always sorta used as a measure for me, as the younger sibling, to do better. I didn't really register that they were really awful things as a kid, other than "things I shouldn't do".
He had trouble in high school, and ended up only getting a GED. He spent years jumping from job to job as he most often would end up fired from one place or another for various reasons. When I went to community college, I tried to get him to go with me. He's plenty smart enough to go to school, just terrible at attending, he dropped out shortly after.
I found out later, my father had botched paying the high school where my brother was attending. He had to scrounge and work after school to stay in school and graduate. This was right around the time of Columbine and my parents were paranoid something would happen to him at a public school.
My parents had been very hard on him as a kid, every time he had screwed up. Once I showed up (younger sibling) they essentially wanted him to start being independent and they hadn't set him up for it I don't think. My entire family, parents included, would clam up if you talked about emotions other than happiness. No one ever seemed able to talk about it, or it was "impolite" or it wasn't to be discussed with anyone else. We were expected to process emotions by ourselves behind closed doors. Unsurprisingly, this resulting in huge arguments between my parents and eventually divorce, but that's another story.
I'm not saying my parents were terrible, I don't think they were. I turned out ok, I think. I just don't think they knew how to deal with my older brother and it ruined him in a way. I try and do what I can for him and make an effort to be there for him.
I don't want to go into too much detail, even with a throwaway. He's a loose cannon, he definitely has emotional issues and he won't seek help for them. He's a pathological liar and slick enough to talk his way out of most things, especially with a therapist/psychologist. He isn't self sufficient and relies on everyone else for everything. Believe me, once I'm all he has left, he's going to get self sufficient real quick.
The thing that really messes me up at the end of the day, in this long debate about nature v. nurture or eco-evo-devo, whichever.
How big a part does genetics really play in this? If I have children at some point, will I end up with someone like my brother? What are the chances of that?
My older brother very well falls into the "terrible person" category. We had a pretty big age gap, and I missed a lot of what transpired between my parents and my brother, but as I'm aging, I'm starting to understand a lot more. I'm getting pieces of the story from him and our mother, as our father passed away years ago now.
I heard horror stories growing up about my brother, how he hit the cat, or lit the rug on fire, or wet the bed for years and they were always sorta used as a measure for me, as the younger sibling, to do better. I didn't really register that they were really awful things as a kid, other than "things I shouldn't do".
He had trouble in high school, and ended up only getting a GED. He spent years jumping from job to job as he most often would end up fired from one place or another for various reasons. When I went to community college, I tried to get him to go with me. He's plenty smart enough to go to school, just terrible at attending, he dropped out shortly after.
I found out later, my father had botched paying the high school where my brother was attending. He had to scrounge and work after school to stay in school and graduate. This was right around the time of Columbine and my parents were paranoid something would happen to him at a public school.
My parents had been very hard on him as a kid, every time he had screwed up. Once I showed up (younger sibling) they essentially wanted him to start being independent and they hadn't set him up for it I don't think. My entire family, parents included, would clam up if you talked about emotions other than happiness. No one ever seemed able to talk about it, or it was "impolite" or it wasn't to be discussed with anyone else. We were expected to process emotions by ourselves behind closed doors. Unsurprisingly, this resulting in huge arguments between my parents and eventually divorce, but that's another story.
I'm not saying my parents were terrible, I don't think they were. I turned out ok, I think. I just don't think they knew how to deal with my older brother and it ruined him in a way. I try and do what I can for him and make an effort to be there for him.
I don't want to go into too much detail, even with a throwaway. He's a loose cannon, he definitely has emotional issues and he won't seek help for them. He's a pathological liar and slick enough to talk his way out of most things, especially with a therapist/psychologist. He isn't self sufficient and relies on everyone else for everything. Believe me, once I'm all he has left, he's going to get self sufficient real quick.
The thing that really messes me up at the end of the day, in this long debate about nature v. nurture or eco-evo-devo, whichever.
How big a part does genetics really play in this? If I have children at some point, will I end up with someone like my brother? What are the chances of that?
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14points
#25
Not a parent, but I have a cousin who a good chunk of my family have completely agreed with me that he is not going to be a good person. Ever. What's difficult is his parents and some of the older generation still have hope in him (he's in his 40s). We knew he was going to be a bad person when during his time in the states, he refused to take no for an answer for anything. He wanted the newest cars, wanted to go to certain schools (his grades weren't exceptional so of course he never got in). He believed that just because his parents had money, he could do whatever he wanted and that he was a special snowflake.
His parents were partly to blame as they facilitated and enabled a lot of his behavior. He would often steal money from family members, and purposely rack up insane bills on credit cards (not just his card either, he'd steal others' cards and start racking up bills on theirs), phones (this was during the time of those brick cell phones so prices were exorbitant), crash/total his car and request another, and just treat others like they were trash.
Eventually he dropped out of college and returned back to his home country with his parents. During this time, things got a lot worse. His father tried to get him to run his family business along with his siblings, but he was the problem one. He would often harass employees and make them uncomfortable as well as threaten them when he didn't get what he wanted. He never even did much work, he just sat at his desk watching movies and shows, browsing the web, and never took on any responsibility. His siblings eventually cut him out of essential business functions as he was doing more harm than good for the company. His father kept him onboard believing that his son will change.
His behavior at home also got worse as he would often fight with his parents and attempt to hit them as well as his siblings. It got to a point where the siblings would never leave their kids with him and would rather hire a nanny at all times when they were gone than have him there. His spending habits also got worse as he racked up thousands. It got to the point where he began stealing more money, borrowing, and taking out loans to feed his habits. It got really bad when one of the loans he took ended up being from a loan shark and they were harassing him nearly at all times asking for their money and sending people to beat him. Again, his father had to step in and thankfully the father is a well respected man and they resolved the issue. He went through rehab eventually for it, but no one trusts him still. We all know he's a bad individual and there is a list of other things both big and small he has done that's just way too long to list. It's just sad and embarrassing to see that his father still thinks highly of him when a lot of us know that he's just a bad person in general and will never change.
His parents were partly to blame as they facilitated and enabled a lot of his behavior. He would often steal money from family members, and purposely rack up insane bills on credit cards (not just his card either, he'd steal others' cards and start racking up bills on theirs), phones (this was during the time of those brick cell phones so prices were exorbitant), crash/total his car and request another, and just treat others like they were trash.
Eventually he dropped out of college and returned back to his home country with his parents. During this time, things got a lot worse. His father tried to get him to run his family business along with his siblings, but he was the problem one. He would often harass employees and make them uncomfortable as well as threaten them when he didn't get what he wanted. He never even did much work, he just sat at his desk watching movies and shows, browsing the web, and never took on any responsibility. His siblings eventually cut him out of essential business functions as he was doing more harm than good for the company. His father kept him onboard believing that his son will change.
His behavior at home also got worse as he would often fight with his parents and attempt to hit them as well as his siblings. It got to a point where the siblings would never leave their kids with him and would rather hire a nanny at all times when they were gone than have him there. His spending habits also got worse as he racked up thousands. It got to the point where he began stealing more money, borrowing, and taking out loans to feed his habits. It got really bad when one of the loans he took ended up being from a loan shark and they were harassing him nearly at all times asking for their money and sending people to beat him. Again, his father had to step in and thankfully the father is a well respected man and they resolved the issue. He went through rehab eventually for it, but no one trusts him still. We all know he's a bad individual and there is a list of other things both big and small he has done that's just way too long to list. It's just sad and embarrassing to see that his father still thinks highly of him when a lot of us know that he's just a bad person in general and will never change.
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14points
#26
My mom's friend had two sons. One was completely "normal" for a young kid but his younger brother, from 5 years old to around 14, was an absolute monster. This kid would scream bloody mary anytime he didn't get his way and yell at his parents and his brother all day long. He found pleasure in hurting his brother in front of me and my brother and sometimes would hurt his dog as well. He would throw things at his brother, bite him, and hit him and seemed to get so much joy out of it. I was always worried as a young kid being around him. Luckily, I didn't live close so I didn't see him often but the kid absolutely scared me.
It's funny though because I mentioned this to my mother recently and she reacted like she's never heard of this before. His mother didn't realize it either. It seems it was so easy to compartmentalize and forget it ever happened when you're so close to the problem. Thankfully, he grew out of it. I chalk it up to being a spoiled kid (family has lots of money so he got whatever he wanted material-wise, also second child favoritism) but at the time I really thought he was going to be in jail before he was 20. He's now an extremely talented musician and recently married. I'm happy for him but I also think he got lucky because, to me, it seemed more about "growing out of it" then actual help from his parents.
It's funny though because I mentioned this to my mother recently and she reacted like she's never heard of this before. His mother didn't realize it either. It seems it was so easy to compartmentalize and forget it ever happened when you're so close to the problem. Thankfully, he grew out of it. I chalk it up to being a spoiled kid (family has lots of money so he got whatever he wanted material-wise, also second child favoritism) but at the time I really thought he was going to be in jail before he was 20. He's now an extremely talented musician and recently married. I'm happy for him but I also think he got lucky because, to me, it seemed more about "growing out of it" then actual help from his parents.
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14points
#27
This is all according to my mom and it's not even about me, but I think it should be here anyway.
My mother had a friend who was raising a daughter that was infamous for not really...Being a nice person. We were like 5 and 6 respectively and honestly I was a far better behaved child then she was (Thanks mom!)
The main point I have for this (Again, this is according to my mom) is that whenever she would hit me, I wouldn't hit her back. Not only did the parents not do anything about it, but they also asked "Why does he not fight back?"...What? Did you want to make a betting game on who would win in a fist fight between the two of us!? Also, if I did hit her *once* you would *lay me out* for hitting your *precious daughter*
My mom and her aren't friends anymore.
My mother had a friend who was raising a daughter that was infamous for not really...Being a nice person. We were like 5 and 6 respectively and honestly I was a far better behaved child then she was (Thanks mom!)
The main point I have for this (Again, this is according to my mom) is that whenever she would hit me, I wouldn't hit her back. Not only did the parents not do anything about it, but they also asked "Why does he not fight back?"...What? Did you want to make a betting game on who would win in a fist fight between the two of us!? Also, if I did hit her *once* you would *lay me out* for hitting your *precious daughter*
My mom and her aren't friends anymore.
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13points
#28
My uncle is basically raising a "'criminal"(hopefully not) without realizing it.
both my uncles and aunts are very successful doctors in our country and are often busy so my cousin was raised by maids in a spoiled and neglected environment that constantly feeds his ego. growing up i remember he would get everything he wants, and if anyone does not "pleases" him (such as giving him a particular toy he wants, or making jokes at him), he would throw the biggest fit. it doesnt help that whenever he throws a fit his dad would yell at the person doing it, including my aunts, uncles, and even grandma (seniority is pretty serious in my family and he's always been my grandma's favorite).
fast forward to a couple of years ago when his family visited the us (where my family lives). they were staying at my house and he started to yell at his little sister for some stupid reason. i politely told him that it wasnt nice to yell at his little sister when it was uncalled for. he replied "do you really think you can argue with me?". i calmly told him that im not arguing with him, i simply am telling him that he shouldnt yell at his sister when she didnt do anything wrong. he repeats the same sentence above, forgetting the fact that i'm older than him and actually have more seniority than him in the family (my dad is the oldest, his dad is the 2nd oldest in a family of 8 siblings so his dad has a lot of seniority power back in our country). at this point i just had it with him and told him that i'm not arguing with him, and since i'm older than him and he's living in my family's house he better behaves and respects everyone in my family, at which point he starts throw a fit (he's 15 at the time), in which his dad, fortunately, told him to apologize to me (probably because of the whole seniority thing)
fast forward to a few months ago after my brother visited the homeland and got the family updates. since he grew up with a big ego (rich family with my uncle constantly reminds him of his status) and doesnt know how to interact with people peacefully, he never had friends growing up. not only that, he's starting to develop an interest in chemistry and explosives. last i've heard my uncle had to get rid of a bunch of tools he bought to explore more into the explosives. as my brother dug deeper into the situation, he found a bunch of internet searches and histories that this kid has been making that would definitely prompted quite a few FBI visits if he was living in the united states.
i honestly dont know what came out of that and how he is now. it is quite scary to loosely observe someone growing up to potentially become a "sociopath" like this. hope its just a phase.
both my uncles and aunts are very successful doctors in our country and are often busy so my cousin was raised by maids in a spoiled and neglected environment that constantly feeds his ego. growing up i remember he would get everything he wants, and if anyone does not "pleases" him (such as giving him a particular toy he wants, or making jokes at him), he would throw the biggest fit. it doesnt help that whenever he throws a fit his dad would yell at the person doing it, including my aunts, uncles, and even grandma (seniority is pretty serious in my family and he's always been my grandma's favorite).
fast forward to a couple of years ago when his family visited the us (where my family lives). they were staying at my house and he started to yell at his little sister for some stupid reason. i politely told him that it wasnt nice to yell at his little sister when it was uncalled for. he replied "do you really think you can argue with me?". i calmly told him that im not arguing with him, i simply am telling him that he shouldnt yell at his sister when she didnt do anything wrong. he repeats the same sentence above, forgetting the fact that i'm older than him and actually have more seniority than him in the family (my dad is the oldest, his dad is the 2nd oldest in a family of 8 siblings so his dad has a lot of seniority power back in our country). at this point i just had it with him and told him that i'm not arguing with him, and since i'm older than him and he's living in my family's house he better behaves and respects everyone in my family, at which point he starts throw a fit (he's 15 at the time), in which his dad, fortunately, told him to apologize to me (probably because of the whole seniority thing)
fast forward to a few months ago after my brother visited the homeland and got the family updates. since he grew up with a big ego (rich family with my uncle constantly reminds him of his status) and doesnt know how to interact with people peacefully, he never had friends growing up. not only that, he's starting to develop an interest in chemistry and explosives. last i've heard my uncle had to get rid of a bunch of tools he bought to explore more into the explosives. as my brother dug deeper into the situation, he found a bunch of internet searches and histories that this kid has been making that would definitely prompted quite a few FBI visits if he was living in the united states.
i honestly dont know what came out of that and how he is now. it is quite scary to loosely observe someone growing up to potentially become a "sociopath" like this. hope its just a phase.
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13points
#29
My aunt's child is horrible, we are the same age but he has done some very questionable things. Most of these include being violent to younger children, he expressed how he wanted to hurt my niece. He has always been kind of weird around younger kids. He was raised pretty badly, a careless mother who thinks he is always innocent and a toxic father. He also suffers from ADHD and has turrets syndrome.
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11points
#30
My parents didn't really "get" video games.
they were deeply concerned that i would spend three hours a night, *playing video games the whole time*.
not to mention the fact that i *planned a spesific time every week to play, and would get really angry when inturupted*.
they took me to a pycologyst, who understood what i was doing, and simply asked my parents "is it strange or unusual to schedule a football game with friends? because this is essentially what he is doing"
my parents realized i wasn't a crazed delinquant for scheduling raid nights for WoW durring high school. so yay?
they were deeply concerned that i would spend three hours a night, *playing video games the whole time*.
not to mention the fact that i *planned a spesific time every week to play, and would get really angry when inturupted*.
they took me to a pycologyst, who understood what i was doing, and simply asked my parents "is it strange or unusual to schedule a football game with friends? because this is essentially what he is doing"
my parents realized i wasn't a crazed delinquant for scheduling raid nights for WoW durring high school. so yay?
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10points
