--- title: 10 Things Most Parents Are Dead Wrong About: Backed By Research description: Your bedtime reading skills may need some coaching canonical: https://time.com/3676581/wrong-parenting/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-21T17:06:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:08:42.866Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 10 Things Most Parents Are Dead Wrong About: Backed By Research og:description: Your bedtime reading skills may need some coaching og:url: https://time.com/3676581/wrong-parenting/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a9f12e0778e5c6f/69877aff06f2c1ed9533383f/ca11830-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3350 og:image:height: 1884 og:image:alt: closeup-bedtime-reading og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Things Most Parents Are Dead Wrong About: Backed By Research twitter:description: Your bedtime reading skills may need some coaching twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a9f12e0778e5c6f/69877aff06f2c1ed9533383f/ca11830-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Things Most Parents Are Dead Wrong About: Backed By Research > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jan 21, 2015 5:06 PM UTC  Father and daughter reading greeting card, close-up Father and daughter reading greeting card, close-up Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jan 21, 2015 5:06 PM UTC * Talking back is a good thing. It can [make your kid smarter](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-talking-back-may-lead-to-smarter-kids-new). * [Never spanking can be worse for children than spanking them.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/never-spanking-might-be-worse-for-kids-than-s) * Peer pressure is more often [a good thing](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/paradoxically-study-shows-peer-pressure-is-a). * You [have no idea what’s going on in your kid’s head](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/parents-dont-know-what-their-kids-talking-abo) most of the time. * Reading to your kids? [You’re probably doing it wrong](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/reading-to-your-kids-is-great-but-heres-why-y). * Your child is right that [more homework is probably a waste of time](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-we-wasting-childrens-time-by-giving-them). * There is no need to feel guilty about [bribing your kid for eating their vegetables](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-bribing-your-kids-to-eat-vegetables-a-good). * That “Baby Einstein” stuff is a [waste of time](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-baby-einstein-and-similar-media-actually-m). * Lying is a good sign. The [earlier they do it, the smarter they are](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-tell-how-smart-your-child-is-by-how-e). Problem is you likely [have no idea when your kid is lying to you](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-an-adult-tell-when-a-child-is-lying). * Proud that your kid acts fearless? [Start saving bail money](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/toddlers-insensitive-to-fear-go-on-to-commit?). **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/07/10-things-most-parents-are-dead-wrong-about-738/)**_._** **J** **oin over 147,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/most-productive-people/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) _Read next:_ [_The 3 Comments Adoptive Parents Hate To Hear_](http://time.com/3676581/wrong-parenting/?xid=time%5Freadnext) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3676581/wrong-parenting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3676581/wrong-parenting/"},"headline":"10 Things Most Parents Are Dead Wrong About: Backed By Research","datePublished":"2015-01-21T17:06:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:08:42.866Z","description":"Your bedtime reading skills may need some coaching","url":"https://time.com/3676581/wrong-parenting/","keywords":["Psychology","Parenting","Family","Research","advice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a9f12e0778e5c6f/69877aff06f2c1ed9533383f/ca11830-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a9f12e0778e5c6f/69877aff06f2c1ed9533383f/ca11830-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"closeup-bedtime-reading","caption":"closeup-bedtime-reading","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3676581/wrong-parenting/","name":"10 Things Most Parents Are Dead Wrong About: Backed By Research"}}]}] ```