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Parenting blogger Samantha is a firm believer in letting parents get on with parenting their own way, unless laws are being broken. It's respecting people's choices up to the point that children are being harmed or neglected.
"We all need to stay vigilant when it comes to the care of children. If any of us even suspect abuse, we need to report that. That said, if the children are safe and cared for, and no laws are being broken, I say let parents parent how they see fit," she said.
"We have different experiences and beliefs, and that will reflect in how we raise our own kids. We can judge all we want, but we should practice restraint in staying out of other families' business. Because we wouldn't want someone poking their heads into our lives telling us how to parent our kids," Samantha added.
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Samantha told Bored Panda that she makes it a priority to have an open relationship with her kids. That way, they feel comfortable coming to talk to her about anything.
"If they had a bad dream or even a yucky thought they can't shake, I'll be there with them and we'll talk it through. I think working to be non-judgemental and staying calm even if your kid might be overreacting helps cement your child's trust of you as a parent. Believe that they are being truthful of their perception of events," she stressed that parents ought to build their kids' trust in them.
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Many people find themselves drawn to weird and creepy tales, even if they make them feel scared or disgusted. That’s because human beings have a fascination with the mysterious and macabre. Fact or fiction, we’re often enthralled by the dark spectacle. Yearning to learn more while at the same time terrified of what we’ll discover.
Writer and Bram Stoker Award-winning editor Doug Murano, the founder of Bad Hand Books, previously explained to Bored Panda why people have such a fascination with scary stories.
“I suspect that most of us—regardless of our spiritual beliefs—have a longing for something beyond this life. Human beings seem to be pre-programmed with this urge," he explained to us.
"So much of horror and speculative fiction grapples with death and what happens after we die that I can't help but believe much of our interest in such stories is an expression of a longing for experiences and existences beyond our perceptions," he told Bored Panda.
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"Great horror stories thread a precarious needle: They maintain a sense of the truly inexplicable while creating a world and a narrative that provides enough answers to ground the story,” the writer and editor explained that the very best horror stories have to always leave some mystery for the audience to grapple with later.
“Over-explanation kills most horror, which is why the shark is scariest when you only see the fin; the alien is most terrifying when it's lurking in the shadows; the killer is most monstrous when he's masked," he said.
"My professional expertise is limited to fiction, but I'll say this: I've seen enough real magic and wonder in the world to make me think twice about whether the supernatural is real—and I think that's a healthy thing. It's perhaps less important to believe any given tale than it is to remain open to experiences while leaving room in your head and in your heart for belief,” Doug noted that the world is far deeper and weirder than people sometimes think.
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Meanwhile, psychologist Lee Chambers explained to Bored Panda that human beings are practically hard-wired to be fascinated with stories about dangerous, dark, and disturbing things.
"When considering why the darker side of humanity and entertainment are so compelling, we have to first look at our evolutionary journey as human beings. For the majority of our existence, we were prey and always hyperaware of threats to our safety, which created a negativity bias that we are drawn towards," he went into detail during an earlier in-depth interview.
"In today's safe and often sanitized world, we are rarely threatened significantly, and the ability to explore evil, frightening and gruesome entertainment is one of the few ways we can visit this part of humanity while remaining safe and comfortable.”
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According to the mental health expert, it’s no surprise that stories and media that are all about the stranger, darker aspects of the human condition are so fascinating.
“There is a level of novelty to it, it removes boredom quickly, and it helps us to discover our emotional limits while understanding the minds of those who go beyond social norms and potentially gaining knowledge of how we might avoid being victims ourselves. They also offer closure, with many stories ending with the mystery being solved, and the criminal being brought to a level of justice," the psychologist said why, for example, true crime shows are so popular as a genre.
The psychologist stressed that some people find it “comforting” when they see evil things being done on-screen to someone else.
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“It can take us on an emotional rollercoaster, have us trying to solve the puzzle and test our fear in a controlled way. The permission to explore evil is powerful, as we so rarely get the chance elsewhere, and in itself, it is healthy and normal in moderation," he said. However, consuming too much dark media can have negative effects on your physical and mental health.
"The challenge we face is the fact that consuming too much of this can desensitize us, and cause us to become less empathetic to the suffering of others, more fearful of our own environment, and potentially be more likely to use aggression ourselves. It can also cause us to be triggered by our own previous adverse experiences, make it harder to manage our own emotional balance, and increase our stress levels, so moderating our consumption is something we should have front of mind, even when we get embroiled in the latest series that is pulling us in.”