Why Your Parents Act Like That (Part 2)

Allow me to continue sharing the “Seven Ways to Understand Your Parents” which I heard from “Family Matters” (a radio program hosted by Rev. Clem Guillermo and Carmen Go-Vargas aired every Monday to Friday, 9:30AM, over 702 DZAS AM). We already saw that the reasons why your parents act like that are, first there is no school for parenting, second your parents were “victims,” too and third they love you so much. But they just don’t know any better.

Fourth, parents lived in a different world. Neither your world nor ours are better or worse. It depends on what areas our worldviews collide or intersect. For example, let us talk about tattoos. Mention tattoos to your parents and immediately in their minds they conjure images of hardened convicts with blue-inked tattoos covering their entire bodies. “Walking comics,” your parents called them. But for you, tattoos are just a colorful, fashion statement.

So, understand where your parents are coming from. Try listening to them. Maybe both of you appear to disagree against each other but actually you agree with each other. (Just a word of caution to our young people: Be careful in permanently marking your bodies. That Tweety Bird tattooed on your biceps might look like a thanksgiving turkey or a shriveled chicken many years from now.) 

Fifth, your parents want to protect you from mistakes they committed in the past. Maybe they got married early or you were either conceived or born out of wedlock. That doesn’t mean you can repeat history. They made their mistakes. They cannot undo most of them. They just don’t want to see you commit the same. Learn from their example (or error). Their experience, whether good or bad, can give you a headstart in life. 

Sixth, your parents have pressures, too. You have lots of choices. But your parents are running out of it. You can afford to hop from one job to another early in your career. On the contrary, if your father loses his job, he might not have as much options. Even his experiences, though rich as they were, may become a disadvantage for he might be considered “over-qualified.” 

My take? Please go easy on your parents.

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