Dear Dish-It, is here to whisper "ttyl after I've thought about this some more".
Dear Dish-It,
I am 16 and am sick of my parents grounding me for no reason. I am the middle child and I feel like they love my youngest sister and my disabled sister more than they love me. I want to control my own life and I want more respect than what they give me. They said I am not responsible because I got drunk on my 16th birthday and they made me feel really guilty about it, like using it against me. Also they are now grounding me for no reason so that I don't go out and hang around with friends that my sisters don't have. I'm really fed up and am losing it. Help!
sk8r gurl
Dear sk8r gurl,
This may sound harsh, but your parents have every right to ground you - and it's for a very good reason. You can celebrate your 16th birthday in a lot of ways - eat 16 chocolate chip cookies, throw a backyard BBQ, or fly off to Disneyland to party it up with Mickey (that's what Scarlett Johansson did!) - but getting drunk isn't one of them. Alcohol is dangerous and puts your health at risk. Plus, it's illegal to drink alcohol until you're 21 in the US and 19 in Canada. That's why your parents are grounding you! For someone who wants more respect, you've been acting irresponsibly by drinking alcohol and getting drunk.
If you're seriously trying to get your parents to see that you're responsible, I doubt that getting mad and fed up at them is going to help your case. If you want to be treated with respect, you've got to earn it. Start by helping out with the chores and staying away from alcohol. Being the middle child can be pretty rough cuz the firstborn is the overachiever and the lastborn is the baby of the family, which makes the middle kid feel left out and ignored. But that doesn't mean your parents love you any less than your sisters. I think they just have to pay more attention to your younger sister cuz she's young, and they have to look after your other sister cuz she has a disability that requires extra care and attention. Help your parents out by looking after your sisters and pretty soon, they'll realize you're responsible and give you the freedom and respect that you deserve at your age.
So, ya gotta burnin' question? Need some love directions? Thinkin' 'bout stuff like depression, sex,how ya feel 'bout YOURSELF (that's called "self-esteem"), boyfriends, girlfriends, losin' old friends, bullyin' or peer pressure, but too scared to ask the parents? Don't be scared to .
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