IS YOUR FAMILY DRIVING YOU NUTS?
Is your family driving you nuts? Here, from our friends at TEEN, are a few ideas on how to deal.
Ahhh...Family members—You can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Mom and Dad drive you crazy, and little sis sneaks into your room every chance she gets. But what if things have gotten so bad you can't, like, breathe without somebody blowing up? Keep in mind, nobody really wants to yell, says Carol Weston, author of Girltalk: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You. Your parents want to find a solution just as badly as you do. Here's how you can call a truce and work things out.
Constantly being grilled about where you're going, what you're doing and who you're seeing? It's like a firing squad every time you step out the door. It probably never bugged you before-but the older you get, the more privacy you want. That's natural. If you're convinced your parents have turned into FBI investigators, here's how to tell if their concern is normal or kinda nuts:
There's a problem if:
they read your diary.
they trail you to the mall.
they listen to your phone conversations.
They're normal if:
they straighten up your room.
they ask how you're getting home from the movies.
they ask who you're on the phone with.
If you feel your privacy is being invaded, sit down with your parents, and go over what's acceptable to both of you. Use phrases that start with "I feel..." rather than "You always...." This way, it should go smoothly, since you're not accusing
them of anything.
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