Parents, they never listening

[Guest]

I can't tell my parents anything. I get into arguments a lot with them usually it is over something they said that I though was rude or what I said that they thought was rude and they don't let me speak. usually the argument ends when I just shut up and give up, a new thing they have been using is: 1. they tell me something like i am the parent and you are the kid so you don't have any rights/i can do anything cause I'm the parent. also 2. I got into this prestigious boarding school and I love it there so they just threaten to not let me go there anymore. There are a lot of things I'd like to talk to my parents about but... well i just can't. like for example how I don't want to be a catholic.

what can i do? any advice? They may not think so, but I think that we have a problem. I really do want to have a good relationship with my parents but I feel like no ones listening to me.

[ccsmod1]

Re: Parents, they never listening

Thanks for writing on our bulletin boards. It sounds like you’ve been having a lot of trouble communicating with your parents. We’re sorry to hear that it’s been so frustrating for you. It’s probably really hard to feel like your parents don’t listen to you or let you speak.

What have you tried so far to make things better? It sounds like the main thing you want is to be able to feel more comfortable talking to your parents and part of what would help that is if they made you feel like they wanted to listen to what you have to say. Relationships are tough things, especially relationships with parents. One of the hardest things about your situation is that part of the problem is your parents’ actions and reactions. This isn’t something that you have control over. Is there anything that you feel like you do have control over, that you could change to help with your relationship?

If there’s nothing that you feel like you could change, do you think having a mediated conversation with your parents about this would help? Is there an adult in your life that you trust and your parents also trust, that could help with something like this? One service we provide here is a conference calling service, where if a youth calls us and has something that they want to talk to their parents about, but don’t feel comfortable doing so alone, we can help facilitate a call. If this is something you think would help, you’re welcome to call our hotline, 1-800-RUNAWAY.

If there’s nothing that you can do to help the relationship get better, how do you think you’ll continue to cope with the frustration over lack of communication? Hopefully you have people in your life that you are comfortable communicating with. If you ever need to talk more in depth about any of this, we’re here for you. We’d be happy to talk through different options and help you come up with a plan that you’re comfortable with. Best of luck.