Sometimes while reading this book I think, Nick is too hard on his parents, I mean like all parents they make mistakes but they probably love him. Then I realized how I don't want to say awful but... very neglectful and harsh his parents are. His father often makes "jokes" about wishing he didn't have to see his son once a month and pay child support, he also is very competitive with Nick, especially about girls. Nicks mother on the other hand, barely pays attention to him, dates men who are very mean to Nick, and punishes Nick very harshly for everything he does.
I think that this is one thing almost every single teenager has had to deal with, if you haven't, oh just wait it's coming. I know that I am taking Nick's side mostly in this book, and maybe some parent would take Nick's parent's sides, but I totally feel for him. My parents, I believe are probably much better in ways than Nick's parents are, and I really do love them... Sometimes. Other times, I very much do not like them. One thing that I can totally relate to Nick about (and maybe you can too) is his parent's ignore him. My parents definitely don't ignore me as much as his do, but there are always times where I really wish they would just pay attention to me and respond. Maybe part of the reason why Nick did the things that got him sent to his father's house that I stated in the beginning, he did because he wanted his parents attention. I know I have done things to get my parent's attention, for the better or the worse.
When are times that you have despised (or just not been too fond of) your parents? How have you ever tried to get their attention? COMMENT.
Sometimes I also am not fond of my parents because they ignore me just sometimes. But I have heard that about 90% of the teens in a classroom are ignored by their parents at least once in their lifetime. What if it were the opposite way? Instead of ignoring you, what if your parents gave you a lot of attention? Maybe too much? I think it would have driven me crazy that the only thing that my parents would have to bother with is me. Thinking about them breathing down my neck isn't very comforting. But really great, thought provoking blog post. I loved it!
ReplyDeleteI kind of have the opposite problem that Maliha has. Sometimes I feel like my parents are incredibly overbearing and overprotective, and I feel like I kind of wish they would pay less attention to me, or not be in my business as much. However, I don't think I'd really appreciate it as much as I think I would because after a little bit I'd feel neglected.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading both Sophie and Maliha's comments, I think that finding the right balance of being their for your child and minding your own business is important for parents. i often feel like my parents are, like Sophie said, too overbearing. you defiantly can't be horrible to your kid, like Nick's parents were, but I think it is better to have parents that are always there (even though it can get annoying) then to gave a parent that is never there.
ReplyDeleteKids' relationships with their parents has always been and continues to be a very controversial and passionate discussion/debate. When I was younger I used to always hear about how teenagers were always awful to their parents, and were always yelling and things like that, and I used to think, "I'll never be like that! I don't understand why they're so mean to their parents..." Nowadays however, I find myself getting into tons of arguments with my parents. I think in this situation, it sounds as if Nick has it especially bad. In this case I would take his side, too. In these types of things, it's always important to really consider both sides of the story. When I'm angry and yelling at my parents, there's a reason.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! :)
I definitely agree with Sophie. Usually my parents are more overprotective and sometimes I feel like they pay too much attention to me. However, I am sure I have done things to get my parent's attention before.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel like my parents are too overprotective. But kids always break the rules, but usually not too much. If you have no rules and are ignored, you might do a lot of crazy things that would be forbidden in a cared for child's family. Parents are trying to protect you, but sometimes you have to be overbearing to really get your child to a good point where your kid doesn't go crazy doing whatever they want. Of course we think it's annoying, but when we grow up it will have affected us in a good way and taught us to bend those rules just enough that we could live with them, but not enough to go wild.
ReplyDeleteWow! A lot of comments. I agree with Sophie. A lot of the time, I know my parents are just trying to protect me from bad things in the world, but I feel too protected. Sometimes I just want to be able to make a few choices by myself without being interrogated by my parents. Also, similar to what Venice said, I always said that I would never be one of those rebellious, mean-to-parents teens, but now that I'm a teenager, I realize that it's a little more complicated. It's really hard for parents and for kids to find the perfect balance between being overprotective and being neglecting.
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