by Poppy Reid

Created on: May 13, 2010   Last Updated: May 15, 2010

All parents are different.  Some are stricter than others, some are more lenient, some want the very best for us and some just don't seem to care. Some teenagers come from single-parent families, some are only children, some have lots of brothers and sisters.  Every family is different, and the same advice won’t work for everyone, but follow these simple (but sometimes difficult to do) guidelines, and your parents should start giving you more freedom in no time.

First of all - did you know that about fifty years ago we were all called children up until we were eighteen?  Why has this changed?  I think it's because we crave more freedom... from about eleven years old we all think we're grown up and know best.  The fact is - and you probably won't want to hear this - we don't.

Parents don't always know best, I'll agree, but they usually do.  If they set rules, and you break or disobey them, are they going to give you freedom?  Of course not!  If you're sneaking out at night, swearing and screaming at your parents, getting drunk at parties and skipping school, are they going to be okay with letting you do what you want?  No!

Some people insist on rebelling.  But this won't make things better - generally you'll feel like crap afterwards, and your parents will feel like they've failed to bring you up properly, even be ashamed of you.  There will be an awkward, hostile feeling whenever you're around them, and you won't be able to talk to them properly.  Imagine if you'd had an argument with someone last night.  You were both shouting and screaming at each other, even threw things at each other.  And then the next day you had to ask them if they could lend you some money.  It would be awkward, right?  It's a little like that.  Your parents have fed you, clothed you, put a roof over your head and made sure you're happy and comfortable all your life, so can you at least pay them a little respect?

The way to get some more freedom is simply by doing as they say.  Perhaps not exactly as they say - if they're plainly wrong then you can point it out.  But if they ask you to be in by ten, be in by ten.  If they want to make sure you've done all your homework, do it.  They're not doing it to suffocate you.  Cheesy as it sounds, they're doing it because they care.

This builds up trust.  And if they trust you, they'll have no problems with you going out,

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