You may all remember a time when you used to tell your parents everything. As you’ve grown up, you may have noticed that honesty slowly disappear. Maybe you’ve never lied to your parents, you’ve just withheld certain information. There’s a reason why we do this, it’s because there are certain things we’d rather not share with our parents that are embarrassing or somewhat explicit, which is understandable. However, if you’re going through something serious that is putting your health (emotional or physical) at risk, your parents become your best resource. At this point, telling them what you’re going through could benefit you and keep you safe. They may have gone through the same thing you’re going through when they were your age.
You may feel reluctant to open up to them because you’re afraid they’ll be mad or take away some of your privileges. However, when your parents decided to have and keep you, they accepted all of the trials and tribulations that you come with. No parent decides to have or adopt a child expecting them to be perfect throughout their entire life and never have any issues. If that is what they were hoping for, they would’ve gotten a dog instead. They signed up for a life journey with you, so chances are they aren’t going to flip out when you tell them whatever it is you’ve been struggling with.
Judge your parent’s character based on how they’ve reacted to news in the past to get an idea of how they’ll behave. Think about the worst thing that could happen, and then the best. Do the pros outweigh the cons? Or is it vice versa? If you think they won’t understand and the news could ruin your relationship, maybe it’s not worth it. Talking with your siblings about it can help you decide if this is something you want to share with your parents. If you have older siblings think about if they’ve been through the same (or something similar) thing that you’re going through and whether they told your parents and how they reacted if they did. If you’re an only child maybe you have a friend that has gone through the same thing who can give you insight on how they went about it.
If you tell them, give them some time to process the news, don’t expect them to be accepting right away, they’ll most likely be a little shocked at first. If you do decide to share information with your parents make sure you stay cool, calm, and collected. Tell them when they aren’t busy or anxious about anything else. Also, make sure you have plenty of time to discuss the issue. Better yet, tell them you have something you want to discuss with them and ask them when they have time. Make sure you think about what you’re going to say before the discussion.
Ultimately, talking to your parents is a decision you have to make. However, there comes a point where it is in your best interest to talk with them. If you’re dealing with something serious talking to them is one of your best options. They can hopefully give you support, safety, and insight.
by Paige – 17 years old