other unfairly.) Discussion and exposure to sexuality: either too much, too soon or too little, too late Faulty discipline based more on emotions or family politics than on established rules (e.g., punishment by "surprise".) Having an unpredictable emotional state due to substance abuse, personality disorder(s), or stress Parents always (or never) take their children's side when others report acts of misbehavior, or teachers report problems at school Scapegoating (knowingly or recklessly blaming one child for the misdeeds of another) "Tunnel vision" diagnosis of children's problems (for example, a parent may think their child is either lazy or has learning disabilities after he falls behind in school despite recent absence due to illness.) Older siblings given either no or excessive authority over younger siblings with respect to their age difference and level of maturity. Frequent withholding of consent ("blessing") for culturally common, lawful, and age-appropriate activities a child wants to take part in The "know-it-all" (has no need to obtain child's side of the story when accusing, or listen to child's opinions on matters which greatly impact them.) Regularly forcing children to attend activities for which they are extremely over- or under-qualified (e.g. using a preschool to babysit a typical nine-year-old boy, taking a young child to poker games, etc.) Either being a miser ("scrooge") in totality or selectively allowing children's needs to go unmet (e.g. a father will not buy a bicycle for his son because he wants to save money for retirement or "something important".) Disagreements about nature and nurture (parents, often non-biological, blame common problems on child's heredity, when faulty parenting may be the actual cause.) Dysfunctional styles "Children as pawns" One common dysfunctional parental behavior is a parent's manipulation of a child in order to achieve some outcome adverse to the other parent's rights or interests. Examples include verbal manipulation such as spreading gossip about the other parent, communicating with the parent through the child (and in the process exposing the child to the risks of the other parent's displeasure with that communication) rather than doing so directly, trying to obtain information through the child (spying), or causing the child to dislike the other parent, with insufficient or no concern for the damaging effects of the parent's behavior on the child. While many instances of such manipulation occur in shared custody situations that have resulted from separation or divorce, it can also take place in intact families,