Just Leave Us Alone

I think that one of the things that teenagers accept to readily, and their parents don't accept at all is that by my age, a kid is essentially in control of his/her own life.

Now, I think that kids should be able to control their own lives in terms of things like relationships, music, friends, clothing, and other areas of self-expression. And parents should have a grasp on their teenager's life, but they shouldn't be pulling at their ears. This is an age where kids are learning sensibility and making mistakes. To deprive their children of their "rumspringa," for lack of a better term, is only going to damage their child.

I find it to be a ridiculous concept that parents should expect to know every detail of their child's life. A life belongs to one person: himself. There are monstrous changes as children enter and go through high school, whether they be academic, romantic, friend-wise, activity-wise, or familial changes. These are dealt with personally.

And if a kid is troubled, but doesn't want help, if they are fully capable of still handling their life and all of the pressures, then leave them alone! A part of adoloscence is being angsty: if your kid ISN'T agnsty, then they are most likely superficial. Sometimes, the kids who are the strangest and farthest removed from typical teenager hierarchy, then they are going to be the ones with the best grasp on humanity, and humane treatment of others.

I just think that parents should leave their kids the fuck alone. You CANNOT pry into their life without being nosy, annoying, or just plain douche-y. If your kid needs or wants (key word being WANTS) your comfort or input, they will come to you. Sometimes, this comes just from sitting with you or watching TV. Home time is break time for kids, and if you pile stress on them when they are supposed to be taking a breather, then you're an asshole and your kid isn't gonna like you.

Now, outright awful behavior should be punished when it is affecting others in a negative way. But if it isn't hurting anyone, including your child himself, then just leave it alone. Kids, and adults, too, have phases where they behave differently from what you're used to them doing. You just need to chill out and take the ride. If you can't handle the ride, then you shouldn't've had kids. YOU, as the parents, are not having bumps; you;re seeing your kids bumps. If something is bothering you, then it's probably bothering your son or daughter 10X more.

Yeah, Dad, this is to you. Leave me alone. Hasn't enough changed in my life in the past two months? Can't you just leave me alone?

The more you pry, the more you'll get shut out. To people, in general.