Dear Nedlam,
I’ve been having a hard time with my parents. They just don’t seem to listen or care about what I have to say. How can I help them see my point of view?
-Unsure
Dear Unsure,
Parents were kids once, but unfortunately as you get older, you gain a different perspective on life and it can be harder to see things from a previous point of view, and vise versa. Adults have been there, and done that, so they believe they know what is best, or what will be better for you, based off of their own experiences. You were not very specific about your situation so I do not know if your parents are enforcing rules on you that you do not necessarily agree with which causes you to feel like they don’t listen. If this is the case, as annoying as it is, some rules parents enforce are for our own safety and protection. Teenagers sometimes tend to act first and think later, and most times adults are strict with rules to prevent their children from dealing with the consequence of something that could have been avoided. However, if your parents are being completely unreasonable, to the point where their rules have less to do with your safety and more to do with parental opinion or they infringe on your rights then my first suggestion would be to try to logically reason with them. If the only way you have backed up your arguments is through arguing and yelling, they will only see you as more of a child and not take you seriously. But if you sit down and map out a logical explanation to why their ruling is unfair to you, and discuss it with them, your chances of success are at least slightly higher. If that does not work, try to receive outside help from someone you trust, perhaps an older sibling or a counselor. They can give you a fresh, third party perspective on your situation and may be able to help you either understand your situation, or give you tools to fix it. Hope this helps! Good Luck!
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