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When You and Your Parents Don't See Eye to Eye
How can you improve communication with your parents? For one thing, it helps to understand what they expect of you.
by Becky Sweat
Kelsey is angry with her parents because she thinks theyre too strict. "They get on my case when Im up late talking on the phone," she says. "They think by 10 p.m. I should be in bed sleeping because its a school night. But I just dont need eight hours of sleep every night. Why cant my parents understand that?"
Jason hasnt spoken to his parents in two days. "Theyre making my life miserable with an ultraearly curfew," he says. "I cant even go to 7:30 movie showings because my parents want me home by 9. Its totally ridiculous."
Kelsey and Jason are hardly the first teens to clash with their parents. You, a teen, are fighting for independence. Your parents are fighting to guide and protect you. Theyre acting from a perspective of wisdom, experience, knowledge and understanding, trying to show you the way until you can learn these things on your own.
"In some ways teens and parents almost have mutually exclusive agendas," says Kathleen Galvin, Ph.D., associate professor of communication studies at Northwestern University. "Parents are probably still focused inward in terms of whats going on with the family, and most teens are beginning to focus outward, paying a great deal more attention to their peer groups as sources of influence."
As a result, teens clash with their parents about everything from parties and grades to how neat their bedrooms need to be and their choice of friends. But, although you may think your parents are unreasonable when they tell you to get off the phone after youve been talking for only three hours, the resulting conversation they have with you about the proper use of the telephone doesnt have to turn into a big blowup.
Here are some ways to sort out your differences:
Get to know your parents
You can put an end to a lot of misunderstandings with your parents just by learning more about them. "I thought Dad was horrible for not letting me go ice-skating on the pond," admits Melodie, age 14. "But then my father told me the story of how his best friend almost died when they were teens playing hockey on a pond that hadnt frozen over completely. Dads friend skated over a thin patch of ice and fell in. Now I understand why my father was so concerned about me."
Take some time to talk with your parents and get to know them better. Ask what it was like when they were teens. What did they do for fun? Did they have a lot of friends? What was school like? See if any of their experiences contribute to the way your parents deal with conflicts and why they set certain household rules. Try to find out where theyre coming from, why they react the way they do.
Any effort you make to learn more about how your parents lives are going will help you interact with them in the future.
Getting to know you
Picture yourself at the dinner table. Your mother asks how school was today and you respond, "Fine."
Your father asks what plans you have for the weekend and you say, "I dont know."
Mom asks how your friend is doing and you say, "All right."
Although you may be tempted to respond to your parents questions in this way, doing so "closes your parents out in terms of being able to make any kind of predictions about your behavior," Dr. Galvin says. "Your parents will be much less likely to grant certain privileges or permission to do something, because they dont have much to go on to help them make a decision: They dont know your friends; they dont know how you feel about various issues or how you interact with your peers."
Teens who do best with their parents are those willing to talk about everyday happenings so their parents gain some sense of what their childrens lives are like. Tell your parents about school activities. Introduce them to your friends. Let them know what you think about events in the news. Tell them what you enjoy doing and why. Ask questions, and listen to their answers.
In short, talk to them. The more they know and understand about you, the more your parents will gain some idea what youre thinking, making them more inclined to trust you.
To be trusted to make more of your own decisionsa goal of every teenyou have to show that you can be trusted. Trust is hard to gain and easy to lose, and irresponsible decisions and actions will show your parents only that youre not ready to make wise decisions. So, once youve shown your parents that you can be trusted, dont do anything to spoil the confidence they have in you.
Heading off catastrophes
Find a time and place to talk when you and your parents are relaxed.Share your concerns and discuss social activities youd like to take part in, privileges youd like to work towards and what youd like to do on summer vacation.
Dont tell your father Saturday afternoon that you want a later curfew that night and expect a positive response. Instead, think ahead and make your request as far in advance as possible. You can almost guarantee a flat no if you spring things on your parents at the last moment. But, when you give them a reasonable time to consider your request, at least several days or more, depending on the event, youre more likely to elicit a positive response. When you show such courtesy and respect to your parents, theyre more likely to show you courtesy and respect in return.
Try to see things from your parents perspective and anticipate the questions theyre going to ask. Think your proposal through ahead of time. Youre going to have a better chance of getting a yes if you make your parents comfortable with your plans. If there are a lot of gaps and uncertainties in your plans, youll be less likely to ease your parents concerns.
Be willing to negotiate
"After I got my drivers license, I asked to use Moms car so I could drive some friends to the school dance," says Breanne, 16. "When my mother asked which friends I planned to take, I didnt feel like telling her, so she wouldnt let me take the car, and I didnt go to the dance. The next day at school, everyone was talking about how much fun the dance was, and I wished Id been willing to give in a little with my mother."
You will be setting yourself up for disappointment if you expect things always to go exactly the way you want them to.
Determine whats important
What are the issues most important to you? Use of the family car? Going on a ski trip with your friends? Extending curfew? A raise in your allowance? Dropping piano lessons? If you are constantly approaching Mom and Dad with complaints, life at home wont be pleasant for you or them.
Some teens are determined to exercise what they perceive to be their "rights" and can make a big deal out of things that really arent that important. Learn to accept the inevitable minor inconvenience and disappointment. Then, when you do discuss a problem with your parents, theyll know this is something that means a lot to you.
Theyre on your side
"When I told my mother about the party I wanted to go to, she instantly jumped on me with questions like whos going to be at the party? Will a parent be there? How late will the party go? Its like she doesnt want me to go and doesnt care if I have any fun. But Im just trying to be like everyone else and have a good time." So says Brandon, age 16.
Although you may not feel that way now, your parents are on your side. Theyre looking out for you and arent thrilled about telling you no.
Your parents are the people responsible for helping you make decisions until youre on your own. They want you to enjoy your teen years. They want you to grow up and become well-adjusted, successful adults. Its just that sometimes their way of getting there may be different from what youd like to do. Remind yourself that theyre your parents and they care about you, even if you dont always see eye to eye.
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Keywords: parenting parents, teens clash with teens and parents teens, negotiation and
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