Parents are the people who get to watch us grow up from tiny babies into adults. They make the decision to have children and with that decision, comes great responsibilities. Not every parent knows what to do at first with a child but over time they become accustomed to raising their children certain ways. Almost all parents want their children to grow up and succeed in life. As their children become older, they are forced to learn how to be an adult and therein lies the problem. Parents are so ready to have their children turn into adults but then they continue treating them like a child. 

          As many children reach the age of 14-16  they are generally supposed to get a job and with that job they are then given more responsibilities. They are supposed to help pay for bills, drive around and do errands that their parents don’t want to do, and so much more. When kids pay for what they want, it makes a little more sense because they don’t absolutely need it. But some parents make their kids pay to live in their own house at 16 just because they now have some sort of income. They don’t even have to be 18! And then the parents sit there and try to control every aspect of their child’s life. 

          Parents think that because we are their children, we become somewhat of slaves to them. They want to raise us to be adults throughout our teenage years but then give us no control over our own life and happiness. We as growing teens know ourselves better than just about anyone. Especially our parents. Life now a days can be so hard. Parents assume that their children are fine just because their kid flashes them a smile and laughs a few times during dinner conversations. Or they ask to go hang out with their friends for a bit. Many teenagers go through challenges day in and day out. They keep it in and all bottled up because they know that’s better than going to their parents and getting told to suck it up and deal with it. They don’t want their parents making their feelings unvalid or not important. Teens and children any age strive to make their parents happy and constantly feel like they will never be anything. Not strong enough, smart enough, just not enough. No matter how much we do right or how many A’s we get or how much time and effort we put into our homework and studying. 

          They want us to be able to provide for ourself but then want to control what we do with our money, our bodies, our minds and basically every aspect of our lives. Will we ever get a chance to do things for ourselves? And not for them? When will we get control over who we are as a person? I mean parents even control the pills their children take for their mental and physical health regardless of how they feel about it. We don’t have any control. And the parents who say “I’m not controlling her or I’m just looking out for her” don’t see the type of damage they are doing to their children. Most of the time parents only think about the way they feel about the situation. They base their reactions off of their feelings instead of listening to how their children feel. 

        If parents started listening more then maybe they would get to know the real us. How we really think and feel about things and how we can’t find much happiness when we can’t even control who we are because they need all the control they can get. Instead of having kids who want nothing to do with you and who won’t ever come to you about anything, maybe you will have a child who takes a chance in confiding in you. Being a parent shouldn’t entitle you to be able to control your child. They are their own person and so many problems will arise from what you put your kids through. These problems might never go away. So if a parent wants to force their children to grow up, then they need to always treat them like an adult instead of only treating them like an adult when it’s convenient to them.