To many teens, protective parents seem like a burden and an obstacle on your path toward independence. But while having protective parents can definitely be frustrating, there are still a number of reasons to be grateful for the way your parents treat you.
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1. Obvious Care
One of the greatest perks of protective parents is knowing without a doubt that your mom and dad love and care about you! All of their rules and regulations may seem arbitrary and excessive, and maybe they are. But the reason those rules exist is because your parents love you and want to keep you safe.
2. Excuse to Stay in
Having protective parents gets annoying when you want to go out and aren't allowed to. However, they come in handy when you need an excuse to stay in on a Friday night! Some days, you just want to stay at home watching Netflix and eating popcorn without being labeled a hermit. When you have protective parents, your friends will assume you're under a mild house arrest, and not judge you for taking a weekend off from high school festivities.
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3. Safety
Your parents are protective for one reason- they want to keep you safe. Believe it or not, your parents could be a lot worse, so you're lucky their greatest concern is your safety. During high school, your peers will be getting into all sorts of unsafe situations, making decisions that could haunt them throughout their adult lives. However, when you have protective parents, you don't have the option to do dangerous things, and therefore will have a safer upbringing.
4. Adulthood Will Be Sweet!
The day you turn 18 and taste the liberty of adulthood, the independence will be that much sweeter! When you transition form 18 years under lock and key to a world of freedom- and responsibility- you will be so grateful for adulthood you will forget about all you missed out on during your teenage years. It's important that you avoid going berserk though, hitting up every party and getting wild every weekend. Just slowly explore your independence and appreciate the stark contrast to the sheltered state of your childhood.
5. Focus on School
High school is called high school for a reason! You are attending school primarily to learn, everything else falls in line after it. You shouldn't take your education lightly or for granted; it's a blessing to receive a secondary education, especially as a young woman. Considering all this, your parents have decided to make education a priority for you, which may seem "lame," but will help you tremendously in the long run.
6. Focus on You
High school is a time not only for intellectual growth, but also personal growth. It's okay to be all about you somedays because you are important! If you have protective parents who want you at home all the time, it will be relatively easy to discover who you are because you will be with yourself most of the time!
7. Make the Right Friends
Not that friends who party are the wrong friends, but friends who are serious about their school and personal growth are important to have. The relationships you forge in high school may not last forever, but they certainly will affect you forever. During this critical time of growth, you want to surround yourself with people who don't need other people, substances, or environments to feel happy. Content, mellow friends will be great to invite over on Friday Nights In, because both you and your parents will approve of them.
Being a teen is going to be difficult no matter what, and on the surface having protective parents only worsens things! However, there are many perks to having protective parents. Why are you thankful for your protective parents?
Comments
Leilah: I think parents need to find a balance. Keep your kids safe, but don't lock them up.
vanessa: So very true!! Love this Article!! :)
kerrigan: Number 2 is so true. I use it for guys who want to date me but I don't like lop
Dani: Coming from someone who had protective parents, not all of this is true, when I turned 18 it was no different from being 14, I didn't get that true sense of freedom until I lived away at college, plus you don't always make the right friends, I had and have junkie, stoner, "you're totally doing nothing with your life" friends, I chose on my own terms to not do drugs or drink, it had little to do with my parents. It also made/ makes dating and just seeing my friends difficult, though I love my family it gets very annoying.
Elizabeth: Just bc parents are protective doesn't mean that the children or teens are sheltered. I was a teen mom and I am very protective if my daughter but she is exposed to life and given freedom with restrictions.
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