Truth be told, there are some problematic habits that parents overlook because they assume their parenting style is on fleek.

Parents have their own way of raising their kids, whether they are aware of it or not. Unfortunately, a good number of parents have lazy habits that they are likely unaware of. Some of these habits can be counterproductive and can end up hurting the child, but most of them are usually mild and cause almost no harm.

We must agree that there is bad parenting and it can end up causing too much strain because it brings about unnecessary hurdles that need to be overcome. These parenting fails result when parents get too distracted or when they are extremely inattentive. Other times, they can occur when parents become lazy AF.

Children have very little control over their parents. Later, parents also lose control over their kids and only hope that their offsprings will be on their best behavior. This is the point where bad parenting can take its toll on a child. For example, the child may find it easier engaging in acts that were previously forbidden by the parents. At this point, parents can determine whether they have done a great job or they have failed in their task.

Exposing a kid to certain behaviors can significantly influence the child’s future. It can alter ideas, biases, fears, and can eventually determine how the child makes decisions. So, parents need to take great care when they are around their kids. They need to take time and answer their child’s questions, encourage constructive criticism, learn to listen to the kids, and provide the kids with enough privacy. At the end of the day, parents are the guiding light in their children’s life and they need to respect that.

But parents are not perfect. They will still overlook some behaviors because they consider them trivial. This does not mean they have failed in their parenting role. Here are 15 habits of lazy AF parents:

15. SHORT ATTENTION SPAN WITH KIDS

Children are like plants and they need regular attention because they are growing every day.

Unfortunately, if you ask parents – especially the lazy ones – why they are not there for their kids, they will gladly respond that they are busy providing for their family and they do not have time for interaction. The next thing is a phone call from the teacher asking a parent to report to school because the child is performing poorly.

In most cases, it is not what you do but what you did not do that ruins your child. These little creatures need to be given attention and direction on a daily basis. Otherwise, nature is going to take its course, and things don’t usually go well when nature is in charge. Children need the constant communication, the smile, and the approval. If children are raised right, they will grow right and will make the parent happy.

Lazy parents also need to be reminded that when you give attention, you get attention. As a parent, it is easy to be caught up in other life activities, but if the parent’s attention is scattered, the child will follow suit. So, quit having a short attention span and start paying attention. Sit close to them and talk about stuff.

But first, work on how to decrease distractions.

14. THEY WILL USE DEVICES TO ‘KEEP THE KIDS QUIET’

Today, there are all manner of ‘toys’ that flash and squeak at the press of a button. These toys have replaced books, crayons, and wooden spoons. Today, kids are getting candy crush instead of a paintbrush, and it is because plenty of parents are introducing their children to gadgets at a much younger age. Sadly, these electronics are affecting our toddler’s development and making them unresponsive.

But these kind of parents will gladly hand over a tablet to a 2 -year-old because…. peace.

First, a tablet affects the parent-child relationship because it impairs learning, creates an attention deficit, causes cognitive delays, and increases impulsivity. Such a child becomes unable to regulate themselves and is likely to create tantrums.

The worst thing is that such parents allow their kids to use tablets without supervision. A kid will comfortably carry a tablet and use it in the bedroom to chat with friends and stream videos. This can lead to sleep deprivation to a point where their grades may be affected. Your kids may also get addicted and may want to spend several hours on their tablets. This can lead to obesity, which exposes them to early stroke and heart attack.

13. THEY MISPLACE THEIR BELONGINGS AND BLAME THE CHILDREN

There are just too many shoes they can’t fit in the closet, or dad removed his shoe somewhere in the living room and is trying to locate it in the bedroom.

The result:

Drama ensues in the wee hours of the morning because Mr. HR is angry and is probably going to be late for work. He kicks everything around and wakes up everyone because his life has been ‘inconvenienced.’

The problem is that he is the owner of the ‘lost item’ and he has the full responsibility of safeguarding his items. Maybe he needs to buy a bigger shoe rack and be more organized.

This does not mean that mum is immune to this madness. Once in a while, she will also cause a tantrum because she cannot locate her laced boots. The problem is that she has too many shoes and she cannot keep track of them, so she finds it easier to transfer the blame. There is no rational reason for having 100 pairs of shoes. Your foot is not going to grow any further. Just get a few pairs that you like and treat them with respeck.

12. I’M OLDER THAN YOU

Lazy parents throw this card when they want to avoid a confrontation. Especially when they know the kid is about to outsmart them.

The fact that you are older does not mean your opinions are superior or have more value. It also does not mean that you are smarter or wiser. There is no reason to get defensive because 9-year-old Jason is about to win an argument about opening a Facebook account.

Criticism is valuable and it should be welcomed if it is constructive. But some parents always want to get away with arguments because they are lazy and they hate answering hard questions. Their usual argument is that children are immature and cannot cope, but in reality, they have an inability to deal with inquisitive children.

Defensiveness does not mean you are a grown-up. In fact, when parents become defensive, children know it and start wondering what is being hidden from them. It is a recipe for disaster. Instead, engage Jason when he has valid questions. Let him know that you are older but the two of you can share ideas. Don’t be afraid because you are going to have to conduct some research. Go for it!

11. TEXTING INSTEAD OF FACE-TO-FACE

Texting because a parent cannot spare five minutes with a child.

While text messaging may still get the job done, it is a bad habit that most lazy parents have gotten accustomed to. The main problem is that a lot is lost when this kind of chit-chat goes on. More importantly, texting a kid is highly discouraged because it causes more harm to their interpersonal skills.

Kids need face-to-face communication.

According to Sherry Turkle, an MIT psychologist, having a real conversation teaches children that they need to have a conversation with themselves. It gives them an opportunity to think and reason. This skill is the foundation of development.

Look, for example, at a scenario where a mom texts her daughter to apologize for her yelling. Clearly, typing sorry and sending is a shortcut that a parent can use to bypass important step in interaction and communication. Through a text, visual cues will be lost.

But lazy parents find texting to be less painful and a better way of avoiding awkward conversations. In the end, they shortchange the importance of human to human communication, which is a recipe for better relationships. In the future, don’t be surprised when your child interrupts your lecture because he needs to respond to a text from a friend.

10. THEY DON’T RESPECT THEIR KID’S PRIVACY

Lazy parents don’t understand that kids need their privacy. They will walk into their daughter’s room without knocking or walk out of their child’s room and forget to close the door. Yes, they are that lazy.

A lazy parent feels like standing at the door and knocking is going to take forever. Therefore, walking in without knocking is the best solution.

Ok, even if mum owns the entire house, it is great if she can take time and knock rather than walk into a private room uninvited. Sometimes, that is the only private time that a child needs to have, but it is snatched away because some parents are too lazy they forget their kids need private time.

Make it known that you are about to enter your daughter’s room. In fact, you can call out to make sure she knows you are coming. If that does not work, avoid the laziness and stand at the door before you are allowed in.

Kids appreciate privacy and trust. It does not matter whether they keep their doors locked or not. After all, they can still go somewhere and have their private time if you can’t learn some manners. In the long run, they may start thinking you are overprotective and may start avoiding you.

9. THEY WILL NOT EXCUSE THEMSELVES WHEN THEY HAVE A PHONE CALL

Okay, it’s your TV dad, it’s also your phone. No one is about to challenge that.

But please, can you head to the other rooms or postpone the phone call. You probably can’t because you are lazy and you want to sit there and make all that noise. This is the definition of using a phone obnoxiously. You just want to rest your lazy butt on the couch and talk for twenty minutes because lifting yourself up seems unbearable.

There is really no point of talking loudly in the living room when your son is playing Warcraft and your daughter is trying to watch The Powerpuff Girls. C’mon, these are unspoken cell phone rules that you should know, especially because you are older and more knowledgeable. This is bad behavior and don’t be surprised when your kids follow suit.

It is simple, step out of the living room or don’t answer the phone. But if you have to use it then excuse yourself because children are always watching.

8. “JUST GOOGLE THAT”

Thanks to Google. It’s easier than ever to find answers to almost every question.

What is frustrating is that parents are using Google to avoid important issues. Unfortunately, some of these questions are usually crucial and need to be answered by the parents themselves. How can parents be this lazy?

And they will cleverly back up their actions by claiming kids’ questions are trivial and Google should take care of them. Yes, Google can, but your daughter will be more pleased if you can take a minute to answer her question. She trusts you more and you are throwing away a chance to bond when you turn her away.

Kids are curious, and they love engagement. They prefer talking to you rather than ‘consulting’ a computer screen that can provide thousands of misleading answers. Even though the Internet has been available for long, your kid’s question should be given the attention it deserves. You will be prouder when you know you have provided a solution.

7. INEPTNESS WITH TECHNOLOGY

Learning to use a smartphone can only take a day, but a parent will come up with all excuses and lament about how technology is changing fast and not providing enough room for people to adapt.

In reality, mum is lazy and has a short attention span. In her defense, she will claim she does not need to use a tablet because she never used one during her childhood.

Learning technology is just a matter of motivation and curiosity. Unfortunately, most adults do not have the motivation. Instead, they want to keep up with activities that do not require them to think too much like office politics or the upcoming election.

While you, as a parent, provide excuses, you forget that plenty of your age mates have embraced modern computers and use technology to its fullest. They do so because they have invested a little time – that you don’t want to – in learning about new devices and how to make these tools work for them.

If you look around, there is really no reason why you shouldn’t spend a few minutes learning how to use an Uber app, or type on a tablet, or send multimedia messages via WhatsApp.

6. THEY DON’T PARTICIPATE IN HOUSEHOLD CHORES

You must allocate a few minutes daily to take care of ordinary household chores. If you find that you do not have any spare time, it means you do not take house chores seriously, and you have probably subordinated all of them to other family members.

Lazy parents, unfortunately, claim they do not have time to participate in household duties. They claim they spend more hours at work and when they come home, they need to relax and let the kids do everything. While this may have some truth, sometimes parents just hate chores because they find them boring. So, they do not see a reason why the floor needs to be swept because they are equally lazy.

The best solution is to create a schedule and stick to it no matter what. Take your time as a parent and engage in house chores because it is the best time to teach life skills to your young ones. If you think chores are boring, try to make them fun. Consult your kids about the ‘making them fun’ part. You will be amazed by their answers.

5. NEVER CHECKING ON THE KIDS, BUT EXPECTING THEM TO CHECK IN

This is a habit that has been in existence since every teen and parent has had a cell phone.

Mum will not call her daughter for a long time then when the daughter calls, she will accuse her of not calling for long.

Well, the main reason the parent did not call is because it is such a big deal and some parents never really find time to call. Parents are also scared that the conversation may take too long, and that is just too much work to them.

Parents who have mature kids feel like it’s up to their children to find the time and ring them. They even go further and guilt-trip their child because they think it is the child’s responsibility to call.

So, is it your duty to call mum because she carried you for nine months? The reasonable guess is that such parents never inquire about their kid’s life. They have no clue what is going on in their child’s life, and probably don’t care about the child because they are that lazy.

When your kids finish college and head out to live by themselves, understand that there may be some changes because they are now in their own “space.” The change may leave them cold and withdrawn. As a parent, do not acquire the ‘I don’t’ care’ attitude. Make it a point to call your son or daughter on a regular basis. Be as consistent as you can, and they may return the ‘favor.’

4. THEY ARE POOR COMMUNICATORS

One of their bad habits is asking a question and not giving the kid time to answer

This just ends up confusing the child. Is the parent going to shut up and listen to the child’s answer, or he is going to keep talking endlessly and thwart any attempts of ever listening to what has to be said?

If you ask your daughter how her trip was, you need to give her time to respond. But you are too lazy and you don’t want to pay any attention. These are the kind of parents who talk without listening, and in most cases, they tend to think that whatever they are saying is fascinating. They forget that listening is an important skill when two people are trying to connect.

Listening to other people is extremely important because it gives us a chance to understand their desires, sorrows, fears, and joys. But parents who talk too much do not seem to get this balance. This is probably because listening requires complex auditory processing and is also a process of learning. But lazy parents hate ‘work,’ whether it’s mental or physical. They do not enjoy processing complex auditory signals.

3. IS THERE A WAY? I DON’T FEEL LIKE FOLLOWING THE RULES

A good example is when the doctor says the kid needs to be checked next week, or when the school asks for tuition fees on April 15^th. Mum will still ask if there is a ‘way?’

Lazy parents sometimes think rules don’t apply to them and they will try to entice the relevant authorities to bend the rules so as to accommodate them. If mum is needed for parent’s day on the 20^th of April, can she just avail herself without trying to change the date?

These types of parents need to understand that a customer care agent will not change company policy to accommodate them because they forgot to read the terms and conditions. They just have to deal with these realities because everyone else does. After all, they are not special.

This is a pet peeve that is mostly initiated when parents realize they cannot meet the current requirements because they are too lazy and they need more time to ‘adjust.’ Sometimes, they also fail to follow instructions and when things get out of control they try to find a way to bend the rules. If the rules say you need to assist Jason with his homework and submit it the following day, there is no reason to try and find an alternative.

2. THEY ARE POOR LISTENERS

This problem is persistent with parents who have poor listening skills and talk endlessly. But why would a parent have poor listening skills? Because she/he is lazy and does not want to comprehend what is being said by the child.

If you ask your daughter about her trip, you need to give her time to respond. If you are too lazy to listen, you’ll miss out on what’s important to her.

Listening is not as complicated as some parents may think. Sometimes it only requires that you face the speaker and maintain eye contact. Lazy parents need to start paying attention and being present during conversations with their children. When you fail to understand what is being communicated, you will start imposing your own solutions, and things are likely to head south.

1. THEY ARE ALWAYS SHOUTING

There are two reasons why these parents scream:

The first reason is because they are scared of any kind of confrontation and prefer using their seniority to ‘shut down’ the minors in the house. For example, if a parent cannot answer a kid’s question, he/she will start pointing fingers and raising her voice because she cannot take a challenge.

To her, the kid does not have a say because a child is a minor and cannot make any serious decisions. In addition, he/she is too lazy to carry out any research and does not want to accept corrections. So, her only weapon is shouting because she knows that is the only way to get victory.

The other reason for shouting is because some lazy parents have refused to get hearing aids. They keep postponing their visits to the ear specialist because they are mostly lazy and prefer to sleep in during the weekends.

The result is that they will end up shouting during conversations when there is really no need for shouting. A simple visit to an Otolaryngologist can turn things around and can improve the quality of conversations, but they are too lazy to see this. Most kids have to deal with this shouting because they have no option. If they did, they’d probably be shouting “please get a hearing aid!”