I am not a parent.
I feel the need to preface this article with that small fact. Nothing bothers me more than non-parents attempting to give parenting advice because if they haven’t had to deal with hours of a screaming, teething child or known what it feels like to wipe a snotty nose with their bare hands and wipe them absent-mindedly on their jeans, they can’t really offer any suitable advice.
I am, however, an aunt.
Cue the eye-rolling of parents everywhere.
While I may have the luxury of handing nieces and nephews back to their parents when the poopy times get tough, I have been able to see, more objectively, the different ways of parenting and the different benefits (or non-benefits) of certain parenting techniques – namely, those who attempt to make their kids geniuses.