Published: 2021-11-20
Have you ever felt like you didn't get the right to choose for yourself? Like your parents' decisions were unreasonable? Well, sometimes my parents don't let me buy things I want or go places I want to go. It's really frustrating and I get really mad but just eventually realize there is no point in doing so. My sister throws tantrums when she isn't allowed to do certain things and my brother deals with it in other ways. What is the reason behind some of these restrictions?
Here's what my dad said, 'Well, it is not an absolute fact that parents don't allow their children to choose things for themselves even when they have valid reasons. "Valid reasons" are perceived differently by both parties just like logic, beliefs, etc. The more important matter is that there have to be open discussions to allow each party's opinions to be heard, understood, and evaluated with an open mind before the final decision is made.'
This was written from my dad's point of view. However, I view this differently. I think that parents don't allow certain things that we children want because they think through what we ask for and decide what they think is the best for us. Different families do things differently and resolve these situations differently too. When I was younger I was just like my sister. I would throw tantrums when I didn't get what I want and then just go somewhere and cry until my tears run dry. I never really thought about what was going on in my parents' minds and always thought of them as the supervillains depriving me of what I deserved.
However, now that I have understood how my parents think through open sharing and discussion, I have realized that my parents weren't really the supervillains the whole time. It was just my anger that made me think of my parents as supervillains. It's just like when my mom doesn't allow me to eat fast food and I think the rule that she set is unreasonable. She said I can only eat fast food once a month. I like fast food, my mom doesn't allow me to eat what I like and therefore I make her the supervillain. Just like when my sister wants to use her phone and dad confiscates it and tells her she had used her phone too much for the day. She would then think of dad as the supervillain. This applies to most fights between me, my brother, my sister, my dad, and my mom. So, if we can change the way we view certain situations, we can resolve these conflicts. Don't let your anger control the way you think.