Ever since I was young, my parents have always told me stories starting with, “when I was your age…” and a funny anecdote that shows how times have changed. One such story of my dad is how he used to sneak out of the house to go to parties. My dad would describe his father as strict: someone who would kick him out of the house if he misbehaved.

Strict parents force their kids to be sneaky in order to have a social life. Most parents keep their kids excluded from social activities in order to make them study for tests or to ensure that all their homework is done. However, students today are under too much pressure with getting the highest GPA, a perfect SAT score and getting into the best possible college. This build-up of stress should result in the release of pressure during social activities.

In a survey conducted by Deseret News, 12 percent or lower said that parents should be “very strict” while 20-30 percent of people said that their upbringing involved “very strict parents.”  This proves that more than half of the people who grew up with strict parents would not treat their own children the same way.

According to an article written by Verywell Mind, authoritarian parenting (parents who have high expectations of their child, but have low responsiveness) causes children to be more impulsive. This type of parenting describes parents that do not express supportive nature towards their child, inflict punishment without explanation, and do not give their child choices. Potentially, this could cause a child to feel trapped and act on impulse against their controlling parents.

However, some parents may say that a child needs guidance in their young life to learn right from wrong, but creating a positive relationship with your child by explaining rules, taking the child’s feelings into consideration and rewarding them will give them the freedom they need, yet, the guidance they deserve. Statistics by Verywell Mind show that “children raised with authoritative discipline tend to be happy and successful.”

Although I understand that strict parents are only trying to protect their children and only have their best interest in mind, this overprotectiveness can lead a child to become angry and depressed. These strong emotional problems can be detrimental to their development and cause sneaky behavior with stark consequences.

When I first started high school, my father treated me like a child, never let me leave the house and pressured me about my grades. Our relationship only improved when I got older and he let me make my own decisions. As I made mistakes with my choices, he was there to help me through them, but it taught me to become my own person and helped me prepare for my journey to college. I will be forever grateful for the wisdom and advice of my parents.