How To Raise Your Child To Hate Themselves

How to Raise Your Child To Hate Themselves

Step 1:
Self confidence is arrogance.
teach them that from the time they're four years old,
when they look in the mirror and feel pretty for the first time
and you tell them that they aren't supposed to love compliments
unless they're given to them from someone else,
and they grow up thinking that they're only pretty
if somebody else tells them so.

Step 2:
I didn't raise you this way.
repeat that phrase over and over until it rings in their ears,
until it mixes with the blood in their veins,
until they've heard it so much that when they first do something that they think is beneficial,
they hear your voice,
and regret fills up the areas that excitement is now flooding out of.
Brainwash them to think that the way they were raised is what they must adhere to,
that they aren't allowed to form opinions of their own,
or experience things that you weren't there to put restrictions on.

Step 3:
Children are to be seen, not heard.
Shush them as they reach up to hold your hand in public to ask you about the stranger approaching them,
and scold them for interuptting you later on
because "the grownups were talking."
Teach them to be silent,
to be ignored,
to shut their mouths in the presence of others,
teach your boys that their words mean nothing to those around them,
teach your girls that they are nothing more than ornaments to a conversation.

Step 4:
Oppress.
Oppress.
Oppress.
"That degree is worthless, you'll never get far,"
"What are you wearing? Go change, that's disgusting,"
"How much of that are you planning on eating?"
"Are you sure it wasn't your fault?"
"Maybe you deserved it,"
"I don't believe you,"
"Get over yourself,"
"You'll never make it,"
"I don't see what I'm doing wrong."
"You aren't what I hoped you would be."
"I love you, but you're a failure."

Step 5:
Tell them that who they love, what they look like,
what they wear, their hair color, their clothing style,
make up every aspect of who they are.
Teach them that they are shallow,
skin deep,
that if they were water, you could scrape the floors of their rivers with one finger,
and criticize what little is left.
Teach them that personalities will never get you food on the table,
and good looks are a gift from God,
but their ability to decorate a cake at a proffessional level is worthless,
that their singing will never get them anywhere,
that their art is a useless hobby,
that their interests are a phase and life is to be rationalized rather than enjoyed.

Final Step:
Contradict yourself.
Contradict yourself to the point that their necks are aching from how twisted you've made their mind,
and your own tongue is in knots because you can't work out your words.
Teach them that beauty is irrelevant, unless you're ugly,
that talent isn't important, unless you don't have any,
that problems are always solvable, unless they go against how you raised them,
that they are not important,
and get angry when they start having trouble sleeping, and eating,
and they find themselves falling into a pit that they can't climb out of,
and no amount of medication or therpay can help,
and you start to notice pink lines on their bodies,
or see their ribs through their pale skin,
or see dark circles around their once wonder-filled eyes
and refuse to blame yourself.