Parenting Expert Says Adults Shouldn’t Be High-Fiving Their Children

A journalist, who has a masters in psychology, says parents who high-five their children are giving them the wrong message about who is in charge. In fact they go on to say that there are a number of things parents get very wrong when raising children. What do you think?

John Rosemond, a weekly parenting columnist at the Omaha World-Herald has warned parents against high fives in his latest article. Even though we may think it’s a fun gesture, Rosemond says children who high-five their parents are less likely to respect them as they grow up. This is because it’s a “gesture of familiarity, to be exchanged between equals” – and that by exchanging high-fives with children, they will start to view you as their peer instead of authority figure.

“I will not slap the upraised palm of a person who is not my peer, and a peer is someone over age 21, emancipated, employed, and paying their own way,” Rosemond said, adding: “The child who is allowed to high-five an adult has tacit permission to talk to said adult as if they are peers. The high-five is not compatible with respect.”

In fact he doesn’t stop there. Rosemond goes on to say that for the same reason they shouldn’t high-five their parents, kids should not call their parents by their first names, sleep in the same bed as them, or have free access to money.

“The more adults and children commingle as if they are equals, the more problematic become their relationships,” he said: “The happiest kids are also the most obedient.”

What pic.twitter.com/J1uRL1O2HF

— erin, Ph.D (@emfundertaker) October 3, 2022

Commenters took to Twitter to voice their concerns at the ridiculous piece of advice. In fact one Twitter user who goes by the name ‘Erin’ shared a pic of the article calling it: “One of the weirdest things I have ever read in the OWH. It is also hilarious. And very depressing.”

“30 years in public education as a teacher and administrator. I have easily high-fived more than a thousand children over the years, encouraging them with affirmations of ‘good morning,’ ‘have a great day,’ ‘well done,’ and ‘that’s awesome,’ in the process. What a fool I’ve been,” another person wrote tongue-in-cheek.

I agree with John.

Hi-fives for children are inappropriate, they’re too short generally, so lo-five is better. But the real deal is the “too slow” switcharoo, teaching them a valuable lesson in not only trust but situational awareness. https://t.co/ukj5fCHCAY

— Igor Brigadir 🇺🇦 @[email protected] (@IgorBrigadir) October 4, 2022

Honestly, what will we hear next!

Images: Twitter and Pixabay