How honest should parents be?

[Crossless2.0]

When it came to my youngest -- who is highly intelligent but on the mild end of the autistic spectrum and thus has some trouble with social interaction, interpreting nonverbal language, and is susceptible to manipulation (especially when he was quite young) -- I took early measures to inoculate him against bullshit and the ways people prey on each other. I might have erred on the side of my fears for him at times by exposing him to things that others might not have considered age-appropriate, but I have no regrets. My validation for this approach to him is the thanks he's expressed many times for my not sugar-coating anything, however harsh the truth may have been, while he was growing up.

He's 21 now and pursuing a degree in psychology (he's also considering a second degree in biology with an emphasis on neuroscience), but he is taking a year or so off to move in with me and to get a job and some much-needed real world experience before resuming his studies. He loves art (especially music and theater/film) and is a walking encyclopedia of virtually everything that catches his fancy. He still struggles at times with the problems typical of people on the autistic spectrum, but he is increasingly self-aware when it comes to his challenges and he takes healthy measures to improve his ability to cope.

When it came to religion, I never hid my atheism but also never "indoctrinated" him with it. I gave my reasons, read him Bible stories when he was young, encouraged him to look into it for himself, and had a standing offer to take him to religious ceremonies at whatever place of worship he might be interested in attending (he declined). Unsurprisingly, given his rather literal way of dealing with things, he has little patience for woo or religious claptrap. He self-identified as an atheist about seven years ago.

As I mentioned in another thread, he's my Mini-Me.

[Joods]

Yes, EP, end it by shutting the fuck up and stop talking about things you have zero experience in dealing with. Dolt.

[Athene]

A child certainly doesn't have to be abducted in order to be harmed. Wandering off and winding up in a park or the woods, a public restroom or even a friend's home, can result in an unfortunate incident. While child abduction may in fact be rare, sexual abuse of children is not.

Fear can be an undesirable impediment to growth, but it's also necessary for survival.

My parents informed me of all the things I wasn't supposed to do as a child, but they never really broke it down for me. I came very close to to be being irrevocably harmed on more than one occasion, because I only a vague notion of what people are actually capable of doing to children. It was only when I became a bit older, that realized how just how much danger I'd actually been in.

Children should always be watched outside when they're very small, but they gradually have to learn to be outside on their own if the plan is for them to become normal, functioning adults someday. At that point, they need the proper tools to navigate the outside world as safely as possible. One of those tools is the truth.

I made it clear in my first post in this thread, that I didn't feel it was necessary to be more graphic than necessary with the specifics.

[Excited Penguin]

Let me make it as simple as possible for those of you that lack the mental fortitude to discuss certain topics from a place of knowledge. Parents can be bad despite their good intentions. The road to hell on earth is paved with those. Parents can be overprotective and that can fuck someone up really bad, as well as making the problem they were trying to solve substantially worse in the long-run. Look at me, for instance. I speak both from experience and for rationality. Fortunately, I've always been bright enough to know how to better look out for myself, but that is surely not the case with everyone else. So stop your whining about me, and either accept my reasoning or don't, but don't for one moment assume I don't give a shit and am solely seeking to provoke controversy and raise arguments where there are none to be had, because I do care and that's the only reason I'm ready to navigate sensible topics, give thought-out if not always welcome advice and ask uncomfortable questions.

[Losty]

The problem is that your advice sucks and you're an asshole. You speak from experience? How many children have you raised? Oh, none? That's what I thought.

[Excited Penguin]

You seem to lack nuance when it suits you. Or maybe you just lack it, end of story. Either way, I couldn't possibly have this conversation if we're going to talk past each other. So might as well end it right here.

I as a person lack nuance or my argument lacks it or are you saying I can't see the nuance in your argument?

All I did was ask two simple questions what does that have to do with my personal nuances?

If you say something then I ask about what you just said then we aren't talking past each other I can guarantee it.

You asked. I answered. You didn't get it. Not much more I can do either than that.

[Joods]

Tl;dr..EP.

Sorry. Not sorry you are a complete waste of time. Every post you make here is further proof of what an inconsiderate, mouthy, immature, little kid you are.
You can't stand it when someone disagrees with you.
You can't stand it when you get called out for giving shitty advice due to your extreme lack of experience with said subject.
You can't stand it when your own insults are thrown back at you.
You dislike many here and are willing to step on the toes of people who have tried to help you in the past.
You come off as a kid who has deep seeded anger issues. You need some sort of help. Maybe by taking care of what's wrong with yourself first, then and only then, will you be able to give out advice to others.

[Regina]

He's not even making any sense at this point. He just rambled about parents being "overprotective" when that's like the complete opposite of what Thena was saying about preparing kids to be independent.

[Silver]

I am not going back to reread what you all are speaking about in reference to the penguin, but from these last two pages it seems happy feet is doing just fine.

I have not seen anything controversial.

[Excited Penguin]

One more thing though. Parents are meant to take care for and introduce apt members of society. It concerns all of us. If you're not ready to accept that, you should use a fucking condom.