Index Should parents control their children's lives? Parental Control and Authority Conclusion Works Cited Should parents control their children's lives? A milestone in every person's life is the birth of the first child. Nothing compares to the feeling you get when you look down and see the eyes of this little human you helped create. The joy felt by new parents is almost indescribable. However, this moment passes too quickly and the little human grows up. From the first crawl to the first step to the first words ever spoken, all of these little milestones bring great joy to new parents every day. This joy is naturally associated with many difficulties. Parents struggle to give the best to their children. They worry about their safety, their education and their future. They nourish the child and provide him with a good environment in which to grow and develop. A child will generally adore his parents and be grateful for the sacrifices they make. As the child reaches adolescence and reaches adolescence, there is an undeniable shift in momentum. This change is unfortunately inevitable, and because of this period in a child's life, many say that parents cannot control teenagers. While it is certainly true that it is difficult to control adolescents, it is difficult to assume with certainty that parents cannot control adolescents. Furthermore, it is incorrect to say that parents have no right to control the life of a child over the age of 16. Because they do it, and when they are involved it creates a better future for the child, due to many variables such as financial stability, guidance and affection, among other things. The individual has a better success rate due to parental involvement. So should parents control their children's lives? The essay to answer this question will discuss the issue of parental control and authority in children's lives. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Parental Control and Authority Teenage rebellion is the cause of the controversy surrounding parents and their right to control a child over the age of 16. Adolescent rebellion is the main characteristic associated with children between the ages of 14 and 18. In some cases the rebellion may begin prematurely at age 9 and may last until the adolescent passes adolescence into adulthood. Children usually rebel against society or their parents' authority. Rebelling is like second nature to a teenager and comes naturally. They don't necessarily rebel to hurt their parents, but this disobedience causes conflict. And this conflict is why some believe parents should let go of the reins of their children's lives after age 16. Irreconcilable Differences is a Hollywood film in which actress Drew Barrymore plays a nine-year-old girl who divorces her parents. While it may seem hysterical to some, this is actually a practice that takes place in the world today. The official term for the bizarre idea of ​​a child divorcing their parents is emancipation. Emancipation occurs when the child obtains the legal right from a court to separate from his parents due to irreconcilable differences. It's the same premise as divorce, but it involves two different parties. Although emancipation is accepted in society today, in the 19th and 20th centuries it was not considered normal. Styles and forms of parenting are changing rapidly. In the past parents had more freedom todiscipline their children as they saw fit: spanking and yelling were encouraged to promote good behavior. On the other hand in modern society, if a parent raises their hand to their child it can be considered abuse and could even be taken to court. The word "no" is generally discouraged in modern parenting practice. These changes in parenting ideals have caused a rift in the relationship between a child and parent, and raised questions about how much a parent should control a teenager's life. Another perspective we need to examine when discussing the issue of parental control after age 16 is cultural background. There are some major differences in how children are raised in Western cultures compared to how they are raised in Eastern cultures. It is generally believed that children from Eastern cultures have stricter parents who do not allow them to "leave the nest" at an early age. From their formative years, children from Western backgrounds are pushed to venture outside the box and gain independence. They usually leave home at age 18 to look into education or other career-oriented dreams. Parents encourage children to go out into the world, while Eastern parents encourage children to stay close to home as a protective measure. This is why the notion of the degree of control a parent should have over a child's life varies from culture to culture. It can also vary based on individual beliefs. A child is formed by his parents. They spend 9 months in their mother's womb and mothers usually endure the painful process of labor to bring their baby into the world. Parents earn money and raise their children, providing them with everything they need as best they can over a long period of time. This gives them a certain right to the child's life. After pouring in resources and investing so much, why shouldn't they get anything in return? If an investor invested a large sum of money and time into a business, he or she would do everything in his or her power to reap the rewards and make the business successful. In the early stages of life, a child achieves many things. However, these results pale in comparison to those achieved after the age of 16. Graduation, marriages and the birth of the first child: these are all fundamental stages in a person's life and are generally reached after the age of 16. they have the right to speak in these big events and they also have the right to participate in these big events. Every little thing a child accomplishes brings so much joy to a parent who has the right to participate in these important occasions. At $1.3 trillion, America's student loan debt is almost incomprehensible in size (Kopf, 2018). It is well known that in Western cultures, students take loans to pay for their higher education. Typically parents are only required to pay for high school, which is an obligation. Higher education is more of a choice. Parents may help acquire these loans, but they are generally placed under the student's name. On the other hand, the procedure in Eastern cultures is slightly different. Parents are required to pay for their children's higher education. If loans are taken from a financial institution, they are generally placed in the parents' names and are repaid by the parents rather than the child. When parents have the freedom to have more control over a child's life, this is beneficial to the child because it means financial stability. This financial security comes at a price, but considering both parties,we can see that it's worth it. Life after 16 is hard enough, and with the added worry of finances, it can become almost unbearable. It is therefore best to hand over some of the control to your parents and ensure financial stability. There is a saying: "you should always trust gray hair, because they have lived more than you can ever imagine" older people know more than us do it, it's a fact. Most of the things that we experience as teenagers and most of these emotions and feelings that we are trying to navigate and resolve, they have already experienced. When going through a difficult situation, it is always best to trust the wisdom of your parents. In most situations, they have your best interests at heart and want to see you succeed. This guidance can sometimes be misinterpreted as a form of bullying and control. If you were traveling from point A to point B and knew an easier way to get to point B from point A, you would share this knowledge with others. This is done with good intentions to make the lives of others easier. This is the same thing parents do, when they offer insights, suggestions and guidance. Not everything is a struggle for control, not everything has to be a battle. We can offer them some space, to control certain situations so they can avoid mistakes they have already made. Parents often want something better for their children than what they had, this can make them a little controlling and even pushy, but they do so with the child's best interest at heart. Giving up control is not the answer, understanding the intentions behind the need for control is the answer. When we look at the need, the intentions are clear: a better future for the child. Peer pressure comes in many forms. It can be the pressure of smoking a cigarette, drinking a beer, or even the pressure of losing your virginity before you're ready. Peer pressure alters the way you think. It leads to many conflicts, especially those between children and parents. When these conflicts occur, the child is inclined to take the side of his peers. They fear that if they don't it will lead to isolation and social anxiety. This usually results in suicidal tendencies. Siding with peers usually presents itself as the safest option, and teenagers tend to follow this path and ignore their parents' wishes. If a parent wasn't in the picture, a child would have nowhere else to turn but their peers. This is a big problem. Peers are generally people you hang out with who are around your age. They are also still trying to figure out how to deal with the daily problems that life presents. In most cases, solutions offered by peers rarely help adolescents while parents or elders can usually offer more effective guidance. The presence of a parent also increases the percentage of responsibility. The saying is true, “you can never truly control a teenager,” but the sense of responsibility that comes with the presence of a parental figure creates a sense of fear. This sense of fear unconsciously leads the child to think twice before acting. At the center of even the most controlling parent is love, affection towards their child. Even Southeast Asian “tiger moms,” known for overworking and controlling their children, have love at the center of everything they do. They work too much and scold their children because they want to see them succeed in the future. They have good intentions but express them in bad ways. People are different, everyone is unique and therefore every parent has a different parenting style and a different way of expressing love to their ownchildren. Loving support from parents is crucial at every age in a child's life. This statement can be supported by a study conducted at UCLA. “a loving parental figure can alter neural circuitry in children” the presence of a positive parental figure can improve a child's lifelong health, while the lack of love and affection from a parental figure can have a physical impact and mental on the child's life. A child may try to make up for a parent's lack of love through a variety of other sources. However, nothing can fill this void and the child may resort to many negative influences, such as drugs and pornography. At every stage of a child's life, this love is necessary to form a whole and happy human being. This is an irreplaceable love and cannot be replaced by anything. It is essential for the child well beyond the age of 16. When parents are still allowed to control children after age 16, it is ultimately better for both the child and the parent. We can see how there is more guidance and responsibility. It is clear that the success rate for the future will also be higher with parental involvement. The fact that parental love is essential for the growth and well-being of a child is supported by scientific facts. Despite these points, people still believe that parental rights and control should be abolished by age 16 for the betterment of the child. People argue that children have the right to choose their own dreams and can become more independent when parents let go of power. They also say this can be beneficial to parents because they are not financially burdened and can save for retirement. Every person has their own rights. This statement applies to all children, regardless of their age. As a child matures and reaches late adolescence, they want to further plead their rights and begin to question their parents. It is true that a child should be able to decide major aspects of his or her future, but the problem is that a child's brain is not equipped and is not fully capable of making important decisions and requires assistance from a parent . Parental controls do not necessarily take away a child's rights. The child still has his individual rights and can speak up at any time, but he has a safety net in the form of a parent. A controlling parent does not mean the child has no rights; it just means that the child's rights are limited in some way. And in this case limitations are good, because it gives the child a backup plan. A key point of conflict between parents and children is when the child prepares to choose a career path. In most situations, children orient themselves towards what they are passionate about and parents, on the other hand, encourage a career path that offers greater stability. Both points of view are valid because if it is a passion-oriented career, the child will appreciate it more and if it is a financially stable career, it is a little more practical for the child's future. Just because parents and children argue is not a valid reason to end parental control. Severing an important relationship over an argument seems pointless. A much better option would be to compromise and discuss things instead of using irrational methods. Perhaps the strongest argument in support of the belief that parents should relinquish control after a certain age is the fact that when they do so the child becomes more independent. Independence is not something that comes easily to a child. It's not something that children acquire on their own because they don't have the.