I get why parents want to protect you and not let you see all this "damaging" stuff but we are going to have to see it eventually. I am 17 and my parents aren't as bad as some but they are constantly looking over my shoulder and that is something else that just boils my blood. This stupid AOL Guardian thing (which I think my mom thinks I don't know about) is total BS. I can't even send an e-mail to a friend or instant message my girlfriend without her knowing about it? Yes I have some things I don't want my mom to know but they aren't like drugs or sex or anything. I am one of the best behaved teens I know. I am a virgin and I have never done drugs. That is more than I would be willing to wager 70 percent of the teens in the U.S. can say. But when I came out to my mom she got all freaky and thought I was like a sex addict or something and watched my every single move and went through my stuff and read letters and stuff. I have to admit I was shocked and hurt. Anyways point in short, parents can be overbearing and sucky.

I'll help GQ out here...

Yeah, my parents are kind of dumb right now. Given, they've given me a lot of help and support over the years and, don't get me wrong, I am not a moocher off my parents. But they aren't going to help with any of college; tuition, books or supplies or even clothes. And they won't let me sell my car even though it's under my name (I was thinking it'd be some quick cash, even though it's 15 years old) because I'm 17. So I'm taking out a loan of course, in my name and I'm trying for more hours at work so I MIGHT have enough money for books.

*pokes his useless thread so it comes back to life*

i think parents are a problem to each and every child in this world... i know wat u guys are talkin bout... my mom and dad are divorced... i used to stay wid my dad for 6 years! and boy was it bugging or wat! he made me bring all my dates or boyfriends home first so he could see wat kinda guys they were... i was supposed to come back home before 12 and that used to suck big time!!! recently i moved out and share an apartment wid two of my frens so things are better now... but i still have to meet him twice a week and tell him bout all dats happenenin wid me! since my mom's least interested in me he thinks he has to fill up for her too... but otherwise he's a pretty sweet guy! he gives me a generous allowance, he knows i smoke and drink occasionally and doesnt mind all that much... but when it comes to guys and all he goes mad! he's too protective! in a way i'm thankful i just have to deal wid one... my mom is a total psycho! suits me we dont know each other!!!

parents suck. they make up these rules ... STRICT rules because they dont want us to grow up to be mindless hobos. but IM not like that. im goin to school and everything. I have a boyfriend, i smoke, i do drugs, smoke weed, ditch skool & classes, have sex and get in fights .. but through all of that.. im doing ok. Im passing classes (i duno how) and have an awsum life...
but recently my parnets grounded me and when they do that... i go crazy. im like a bird. i cant be caged up for more then a week... ill go crazy and loose my mind. i need to get out and away from my nagging *****y mom and drunk dad. I runaway from home all the time and sneak out of the house thousands of times cuz the rules are so strict. no fone, no comp, no friends, only skool... no. im not even suposed to be on the comp NOW. but i could care less. i do what i want and i no whats good for me. i may not go to college but i dont care. my mom didnt go either and shes doin great. i see no point in setting rules for me cuz everyone nos i WILL break em. parents no that i smoke... skool nos and cops no. but thats not gona stop me.
parents plain out suck my ***.

Parents can sometimes be unjustly suspicious and dictatorial, this is generally true. My own mother used to implement various rules which were far strickter than anything my peers were being subjected to. I could very well have avoided their probings and done everything that they didn't want me to do (I had plenty of opportunity to "go astray" without their knowing). But even though I hated their rules (and yes, sometimes broke the ones I thought were too strict) I realize their reasoning behind their rules. As corny as it is, they were generally thinking about my welfare when they instituted rules, and I recognize, respect, and appreciate that. Of course, even a parent with totally unfair rules should be generally obeyed (there are instances of justified disobeyance) but I for one did not violate the rules as often because I loved my parents too much and didn't want them to be disappointed in me.
Okay, I'm rambling on personal things, so I'll return to my original point: yes sometimes parents are unfair in either their institution of rules or their unnatural suspicion of someone who is innocent. Of course this suspicion, while not well grounded on the basis of your character, is an inevitable one when you consider the dominance of such behavior in our culture.
Hmm, I don't know if this is clear or not. Oh well.

I totally get what writerinprogress is saying. I live with my mom and it's tough but now that my older brother has moved out it's been extremely overbearing tough. She (my mom) has always been extremely cautious and overprotective of me. I understand her reasoning (I'm the youngest and I just so happen to be a girl) but I am 17 for heaven's sake. She thinks that my friends have such an influence on me, and frankly they do, but I know who I am and my friends know and I know that I am not willing to compromise myself and what I believe to fit in. My mom thinks that my friends do drugs, drink, and get laid every weekend. I have friends of both genders and none of them are like that but my mom thinks they are, so she assumes that I will become just another drunken, pot head hopeless like them. And to think that she has known me for my whole 17 years and can't think any differently and yet my friends are the ones that know me better than my mom. That's sad-ridiculously (spelling?) sad.

soft...right

I'm 17 also and my guardian's are the same way. They took scenerio's that have happened to my friends or other family members and automatically think it is me.

No, I am not going to do drugs, I don't want to end up like my father.
No, I am not going to drink, I don't want to end up like my father.
No, I am not going to put myself in a precarious situation, I am not like my friends.

The only really good thing about my guardian's and computer is, they don't know how to do any of the safe-block stuff so I can do whatever I want to.

hehhe, if they knew I looked at soft porn.

finn's a character from Celtic mythology. 620's my birthday.

Finn. Where'd you come up with your name?

hey, that is a good quote finn...I had to read like 6 times to get it, tho, lol.

At least you aren't ;D

Thanks.
note-my aunt seriously does think i am mentally ill.

By the way Finn I thoroughly enjoy your quote and agree with it strongly.

I'm now feeling very lucky with the freedom my mom gives me. However, my aunt is INSANE. She drives me nuts. Every time I go to see her, she spys on me and instead of having real discussions, asks those boring "how to talk to a teenager you think is mentally ill and needs help communicating" questions that make me feel like i'm being interviewed. Then she reports her findings back to my mom and tries to make her feel like she's a horrible parent for not monitering me enough. The last time was the worst. I didn't think to erase the websites i had been looking at, and she looked up every site i had gone to and told my mom about it, trying to give her the massage i had been mail-ordering crack or looking at porn. I was going to political websites to check the news.

Okay I don't know how many of you have gotten these before but these are a couple of the things my parents use as reasons for what they do.
-I had my hair dyed red and my dad told me to dye it back because "he didn't get it". Which isn't surprising because never finished High School.
-Ask why and get the old "Because I am the adult and you are the child and I said so" (then they turn around and let you do something the next day because you are an "adult").
-Ask why and get "Because that is stupid and so are you".

::shrug shrug:: Someone else's turn

why did she get mad over deodorant? I don't get it...but, yes, that is a stupid thing to fight over. Thanks for the encouragement

I know exactly how you feel Malibu. I usually get some words in. Here is a perfect example of some of the stupid stuff my mom will argue over. We were sitting at the bus stop waiting for my bus and I was making small talk. I said "I finally figured out the difference between the solid white deoderant and the clear gel deoderant". She gets all huffy and screams, "What do you mean deoderant?!?". I was like whoa back off the crazy pills! Anyways she is also very controling. Like she forces me to do stuff to prove she is the "adult" and I am the "child". Anyways. Hang in there Malibu!

I have reason to be very disgusted with my mom...I was on the phone the other night and was talkin about things my mom was not supposed to know anything about. Well, what do I hear but a little knok on the door and guess who is there, my mom. She asks who I am talking and informs me that she heard my conversation. then she says very sternly "Get off the phone".....we fought for 20 mins or so, me lucky to even get a word in, and then she went on a whole speal about family values, morals, religion, and she was crying, bringing in dead family members making me cry, (not b/c of what she said but memories and....yeah yeah). During this hour I said 2 words if I was lucky...i had no idea how to even begin responding to this.......then she asked for a hug and she has acted like nothing happened ever since. yeah, parentd are greeeeat.....