7 Things Teenagers Wish Their Parents Would Understand

Parents don’t seem to understand that life now is very different to how it used to be. Yes we don’t have the same struggles as you did but we have struggles you didn’t have. We wish you understood that it isn’t easy growing up now and when we complain about things that are happening we don’t mean to defend you in any way, we aren’t asking you to compare our lives to yours and we just want some understanding.

We do know what we are talking about – we are sensible, reasonable and have actually thought about things.

Our parents seem to think we aren’t logical even when they’re hearing us out and they know deep down that we are making sense. Its hard to put our foot down and prove that we are growing up and we can make our own decisions. We wish you would hear us out and not assume we are crazy and inexperienced. Also, we aren’t wild creatures, we aren’t about to go crazy and we don’t always mess around. It is very strange how every parent assumes the worst of us.

We aren’t 5 anymore! – you seem to ignore the adult decisions we make and the things we do right and only focus on what we have done wrong.

I don’t know if this is only my parents but they seem to only remember all the bad things I did as a child and don’t acknowledge any of the things I have done since. Its so strange honestly and I wish they wouldn’t. I wish they’d acknowledge me as the young adult I am.

There isn’t any need to be so negative.

Unfortunately, we have grown up in a time with a lot of negativity in society. There is a lot of unfortunate events we have grown up around. We have seen it all on TV and social media and I am aware that in the past there were other negative situations to be fearful of. However, in the present the situations are different and we have grown up and gotten used to them. I think what parents need to understand about teenagers of this generation is that there is an unspoken agreement amongst us to be as positive as we can about it all and just get on with life.

There are more options today then there was for you.

There is so much out there for us to do and for us to experience as teenagers, a lot more than there was in the past and we wish parents would understand that and let us go out there and explore what the world has to offer. It isn’t just about education – university – job and family. There are other options aside from university and there are so many different types of jobs. You have to let us see for ourselves so we can truly understand and decide what it is we enjoy and want to pursue.

Mistakes are okay to make – you taught us that didn’t you?

I feel as though making a mistake and having to tell your parents about it is the scariest situation to be in, even if it is a small mistake and well we shouldn’t feel scared. We wish you wouldn’t make us feel like the mistakes we make are huge when in reality they aren’t and we are learning from them.

We’re not all the same – just because that other teenager spit on the road doesn’t mean we do too.

We wish parents understood that all teenagers aren’t the same. We don’t all do the same thing and hang out at the same places. We don’t make the same mistakes and have the same mindset. We are all different and they shouldn’t assume one wrong teenager speaks for all of us.