I mean, the entirety of my interaction with my parents was:
Mom: Dumped me on her mom, and grandma
Dad: Left the state to chase tail
So, y'know. Short list of things not to do.
In terms of adults in general:
- If a kid is failing in school despite knowing the material, maybe something is wrong.
- Do not give an 8 year old unrestricted access to the internet when LiveLeak was a thing
- If a therapist says the kid has depression/anxiety, don't bring them to another therapist just because one of the drugs that's prescribed for that can cause suicidal ideation in some preteens
- If a therapist lets you stay in the room while the session is going on, the kid is 100% lying to everyone in that room, maybe even themselves
- Don't stay in the room with the therapist
- Literally those last 3 points are what keeps therapy from working for me. I can't trust therapists at all. DO. NOT. DO. THAT.
- If you're religious, and your religion is anti-queer, your child can still be queer, they'll just be miserable, and not trust you
I think that's it, really. Aside one thing: They're people, not property. Treat them like people, and you'll have a lot better time with them.