How to Deal With Uptight Parents

Hey! If you're a youth who understands what it is to live with overbearing and protective parents, this read is for you.

     Do you find yourself questioning why you can't go out with your friends at night? Do you wonder why you're parents feel the need to force you to stay at home all the time? Do your parents always say no to everything you ask relating to anything that seems fun? Ask yourself this question first, "what am I doing that is wrong?" If you refuse to finish your chores, if you don't focus in school, and if you laze around the house, you are giving your parents a reason to hold you from enjoyment, point blank. But I'm not pointing fingers, this was me. When you do as they please, you give them a reason to deem you responsible, they'll look at you as a good child, and may even reward you for it. If you are already doing these things and are still given the answer no to go to that party, it may be deeper. You may have the "fearful for their lives" parents or the "God says no" parents. These type of parents will usually throw you one in a million reasons as to why you shouldn't go. For example, they may say that at prom, people get pregnant, or at prom, people drink and drive and then die. Although this may occur to few, assure them that you won't dabble in such activity, if you have to, refer to an older friend or family member who they may love who went to prom, this is known to lighten up such a parent's decision. For the Strong in Faith parent, they may be quick to give scriptures as to why you shouldn't go and why certain things are wrong. They may even speak of having dreams, which is very popular in the African community lol. If you don't feel a personal conviction, honestly my best advice is just to pray about it, ha!!! There's not much to advise in this area other than that because I myself am a witness when I would go against the word, God would easily, sometimes in a scary way, wake me up. This is my own experience and may differ from person to person. You may be able to get away with certain things that I just could never even penetrate the surface of because my journey was different. Although sneaking around may be easier, it is better to be honest and open with your parents so that the relationship can grow, and so that they see how serious you are about what you want. Even though we as kids want to persuade our stubborn parents and have it our way, we have to remember they were once kids, and life recycles, so a majority of what we go through, they have experienced or heard of. So it is wise to at least listen to them before you go ahead and screw up because it will benefit you in the long run.

Thank You