Dear Readers:

Freedom should be given to anyone no matter the age of the person. Ever since our rights as man were established, man had the rights to freedom of speech, and to the freedom of the press. Teens are just the same; they get the same freedom. Teens have the freedom to say what is on their mind and talk in general, they have the freedom to go places, hangout with friends etc. Adults have the same freedom, and they tell their kids to ‘act their age’ or ‘be more of an adult’ but when parents tell their kids that and expect them to act like adults, the parents take the teens freedom away for no reason. Parents should not contradict themselves because currently parents say one thing but act on or say another and adults and teens should get the same amount of freedom.

Teens are told to act like adults but are treated like kids. For instance, parents preach that freedom isn’t the best thing for teens. What the parents don’t know is that they are actually teaching the wrong lesson and/or giving the teen the wrong signal. Teaching a teen that they don’t get freedom is bad. For example, making a mistake over and over again this will let the teen know that they will never get freedom that it’s bad. Without the correct guidance and lessons taught, teens won’t get anywhere in life. They will just fly through life and they will get nowhere due to the bad teachings of their parents. Kathy Hardie-Williams states: “Being too protective or rigid can backfire” (How Much Freedom Should Parents Allow Teens To Have?). The teen can, and more than likely will, rebel against their parents due to the lack of freedom that receive. Others contradict this by saying that teens don’t know how to control their freedom or that they will always make bad choices. Boy are they wrong! Teens are able to think for themselves in a way that their parents cannot, they can find different ways to get around problem, they do things differently than the last generation and they process things better and quicker than the last generation.

Adults get freedom but when teens get freedom, they are limited to what they get. Teens don’t get enough freedom. Freedom teaches you to be more independent. Independence teaches you to make hard decisions. You’re able to think for yourself. Thinking for yourself is the first step into adulthood. How can one be an adult if without thinking like one? According to Kathy Hardie-Williams, “Freedom equals responsibility” (Hardie-Williams). Freedom teaches teens or anyone for that matter to be responsible with certain tasks.

Parents should not contradict themselves because currently parents say one thing but act on or say another and adults and teens should get the same amount of freedom. At this day and age, if parents do not contradict themselves and teens are given the right amount of freedom, then teens will be more independent, more observant, and more mature. A beneficial move on the part of teenagers is to sit down with their parents or guardians and discuss that more freedom can help them grow into more independent and more adult-like people.

Sincerely,

Palmer Shriver