Dear The Generation Before Us,

Listen, I get it. I may not have years of experience like you do, but I know where you’re coming from. I understand that you have a responsibility over your own child, I understand that you want to make sure your child doesn’t make the same mistakes that you may have made as a teenager. And it is, without a doubt, your duty to pass down that knowledge to the next generation, so we don’t all grow up idiots.

But there’s a reason I wrote this letter. I wrote this letter because there are many things I don’t understand. I suppose I should tell you that I’m not telling you these things without backup. I took a survey, almost, and asked different people what they would tell their parents if they could be completely open about the things they understand and the things they don’t. I combined many of the similar responses into one person so it’s easy for you to understand.

Teen #1 says: “We are isolated from you because you always think you know everything and that we are clueless, but we are the ones who have to grow up in this generation. You grew up in the previous generation.”

What I have to say: As you always say, “Times have changed”. If you can say that for when your daughter asks to do something you think is “risky” and compares her childhood to yours, I can say it to you when I tell you that you’re right, times have changed. And the way we grow up is completely different from the way you did. I’m not saying that the way we’re growing up is better or the way you grew up is better, I’m just telling you that there are far too many things to actually list that have changed since you were a teenager. Unless you really live a day in the life of a teenager in this generation, you won’t understand. An example? You don’t understand why we spend all of our time on the internet. So don’t pretend you do and then yell at us when we make stupid mistakes. We don’t understand why you spent all of your time in a car. Times are different. You are different. I am different.

Teen #1 says: “Parents think that school is not as stressful for us because school was more of learning than anything else at the time. Parents don’t understand how much anxiety kids can actually get from going to school nowadays because school was different back then.”

What I have to say: School is not as easy as you think. School these days is more than just the learning, there’s so much more we have to worry about. Simply going to school to get an education isn’t how it works anymore. If you say the wrong thing, you lose half of your “friends”. If you wear the wrong thing, you get weird stares and rude comments from people. If you don’t wear any makeup, people ask you if you’re sick. If you’re tired, people think you’re the moodiest person in the world. If you like the wrong type of music, you’re an outcast. If you don’t do everything you can to impress others, you’re an oddball. And in no way am I saying that you didn’t deal with all of this in your time, I’m sure the bullies still existed and the fake friends existed and the stereotypical groups still existed. I’m sure it was all the same. The only difference? Social media didn’t exist, and your bad day would be forgotten in 24 hours.

Now, onto a different topic. I feel like I’ve drilled it into you that times are different just like you’ve drilled it into us that grades are important, grades are important, grades are important, grades are important, grades are important. I hope you get it like we do.

Teen #2 says: “Don’t be so overprotective, we need to figure things out on our own.”

What I have to say: Overprotectiveness is a parent’s natural instincts. I’m not saying that this is the case with all parents, they don’t all hover, but to help out kids with those that do, I’m gonna lay it out there that you can’t protect your kid from everything in life. If you’re a hovering parent, you’re just going to make it more difficult for your kid to adjust when they’re on their own. I get it, I really do, but think of the future. Think of when your son or daughter leaves home and decides to make a life of her/himself, what is he/she going to do? Call you up and ask you what to do when times get tough? You need to let your kid make mistakes and sometimes, even let them do the wrong thing, just so they learn. And remember that this is coming from a teenager, so it’s not like we’re exactly opposed to you letting us do the wrong thing. Sometimes, it’s necessary.

Teen #2 says: “Don’t impose your way of life upon mine. Whether you had a boyfriend/girlfriend when you were growing up or not was your choice, your life. You are my parent, but it’s not right to force rules down my throat that make me the same person as you.”

What I have to say: I agree, parents have every right to impose rules on their own children, but it can come to a point where it’s too much, and far too many parents don’t realize that. Rules are meant to keep you from making a bad decision, not to keep you from becoming a person you were bound to become anyway. Moral of the story: don’t tell us not to do something just because you didn’t when you were little. That’s not a valid excuse. If you never did it, how would you know if it’s bad or not? You have to let us experiment the way you would have when you were young. Guide us in the right direction for our lives, not yours.

And that’s all I have for you today- maybe next time don’t ask me to pay you back the 2 cents you offer me all the time. It’s always good to save money, right?

Sincerely,

Another One of Your Children