Send
190 The Teen Survival Guide to Dating and Relating
sweet, you need to know that everyone isn’t what they pretend to be, especially on the
Internet. It’s very easy to lie about your age, background, and interests when you’re online.
The guy you’re chatting with may be exactly who he says he is, but there’s an equal chance
that he’s not.
If your parents don’t want you to meet him on your own, maybe they’ll agree to go with
you to meet him in a public place. The arrangement might feel more comfortable to them,
but if not, drop the subject for now. If your parents say that you can’t meet him, then don’t
meet him. It’s not worth taking chances. I wish you well.In friendship,
TerraMy parents don’t have a clue
Hey Terra,
My parents and I have been fighting about a lot of stuff lately like curfew, my friends, and
what I’m not allowed to do. Basically, they act like I don’t have the right to live my own life.
Teens are supposed to rebel—I know that! But my parents act like they don’t have a clue
about how to raise a teenage son. If they did, they’d give me way more freedom.IrritatedDear Irritated,Let me tell you a secret: your parents are acting like they don’t have a clue about raising a
teenage son because they probably don’thave a clue. Parenting isn’t something you auto-
matically know; it’s something learned “on the job.” This makes it very difficult to have all the
answers and to make the best parenting decisions all the time.
You’re at an advantage because you know the rules that your friends have to follow
when it comes to curfew and other issues. But maybe your parents don’t usually discuss that
kind of stuff with other parents, so they just have to make the rules up as they go along and
do what feels right to them. Sometimes they’ll make good decisions, but sometimes they may
really mess up—and so will you. Everyone makes mistakes, and no one has life all figured out.