Anna Lach Who Rules in Your House?

Everybody knows that teenagers always argueargueargue with their parents. There may be many reasonsreasons [reason]reasons for that, of course, but most of the argumentsarguments [argument]arguments have one thing in common. It’s the conflict between your need for freedomfreedomfreedom and your parents’ need for control. When you were younger, your parents controlled absolutely everything. They chose the decorations for your room, the toothbrush you used, or the hairstyle you wore. They wanted to protect you. That’s why, when you are older, your parents still want to set the rulesset the rulesset the rules. These are usually a curfewcurfewcurfew (a rule saying what time you have to be home in the evening), fixed bedtimefixed bedtimefixed bedtime, or a curfew for TV, a computer or a telephone. Sometimes your parents are afraid that your mobile phone rules in your house. They think it may replace your friends, so they set a digitaldigitaldigital curfew or screen‑free zonesscreen‑free zones [screen‑free zone]screen‑free zones to limit your screen timescreen timescreen time.

As a teenager, you want to have your own identityidentityidentity and make your own decisions. For example, you want to control your pocket moneypocket moneypocket money and make your own spending choicesspending choices [spending choice]spending choices. You don’t want to ask your parents’ permissionask your parents’ permissionask your parents’ permission to hang outhang outhang out after school. If you have a house party, you don’t want any adult supervisionadult supervisionadult supervision. You hate it when your parents set limits on your screen time and tell you when to stop using your mobile.

It’s all understandable, but you have to remember that your parents need time to adaptadaptadapt to this situation. They want to protect you at all costsat all costsat all costs. They keep saying things like, “It would be better if you came home before dark,” or they try to sound serious and say, “If I were you, I would tidy my room before going out!” or, “What would you do if a stranger offered you a lift home?”

Do you want to have more freedom? Show your parents you are responsibleresponsibleresponsible. Here are a few tips for how to do it.

• Try not to miss your curfew. And if you do miss it, always call your parents to tell them where you are.

• Time off your mobile phone is not so bad. Our brains need some time without technology. Stick to the curfew and you will see you will sleep much better.

• It would be great if you tried to do some household choreshousehold chores [household chore]household chores, such as tidying your bedroom.

• Talk to your parents and try to communicate. It’s always easier to reach a compromisereach a compromisereach a compromise if you can present reasonablereasonablereasonable explanation. Do you want to stay out an hour later? Maybe it will help your case if you clean your room or put out the rubbish first? Remember, where there's a will there's a waywhere there’s a will there’s a waywhere there's a will there's a way. Keep trying, your parents were teens once as well!

1 Źródło: Anna Lach, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.