What the title means is "as a sociopathic parent." Are any of you parents? If you are a parent and a sociopath, would you mind candidly giving some idea of what it is like, I would be curious to know. In a general sense, has this been discussed before? Anyone know interesting and informative articles about it, or have other worthwhile things to say about it? This is purely out of curiousity. No judgment here from me.
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Never been a parent, but I had my share in bringing up my little sister into the woman she is today.
There is a 16 year difference between us and I'm in my mid 30's.
She's a tough cookie, a demanding mistress for her boyfriend and a jolly, happy-go-lucky jack of all arts, who doesn't give a damn about other people's nonsensical BS. She has compassion though.
It's about teaching patience, where there is some lacking and teaching focus accordingly. The rest comes naturally.
My sister has 2 kids, 2 boys, 5 & 7. I can visit her and be around her kids, but ultimately I get exasperated with them after a day, and grateful I can leave. I am not sure if I would want kids, I get along with my sisters for a time, being able to "get away" is something I value. I'm 32 years old.
I'll throw in a little, just to keep the wheels of this topic going, because it really does intrigue me. I, again, don't claim to be sociopathic, but I am interested in comparing and contrasting and finding a workable context for curiousiy's sake.
In general, I am a little uncomfortable around children. It isn't that I dislike them so much, I think it's that they are as-yet unfiltered bullshit detectors. I haven't been able to pin that anxiety down other than I think I'm concerned they will see that I am faking any sort of interest or concern over them. Now, I don't really have that feeling, per se. I think I am aware that they would know it right away if I tried. I always saw adults as fakers. I can't talk condenscendingly or patronizingly to kids. That feels wrong to me. I have less concern about this around adults because they are already rather set. A child is beginning and forming their mind about things, so I think unvarnished truth is what a child deserves to help them deal with what's to come. I can't coddle or paint pretty pictures. I would rather avoid the subject until they might be ready to understand, and I would tell them I thought that instead of lying or fabricating. Having to backtrack and unravel the lies or stories you tell kids seems like a huge waste, and is just a better idea to start from where it's all going to end up, eventually. You know? I am not talking about stark, brutal truths, or whatever. It isn't an amusement to horrorify or alarm them. I feel obligated to demystify things for them, so they can have a clear development of opinions on it. Sometimes I do feel like I'm being harsh, but I try to remain consistent, so they know what is really worth being worried or concerned about. I usually say "do you really want to know?" when they are asking me some things. It can get frustrating on both sides of the exchange, but it has always felt like the right thing to do, to me. I don't know if I should elaborate more on this, but this is one aspect I was wondering about. Would a sociopath that actually has love or even concern for their family have a better handle on teaching a child truth and how to deal with it in a realistic manner? I would imagine there is a stark realism a sociopath may be able to share, and a child would benefit from this.
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