| Your
answers to the question, 'What is the one thing that your parent
could do to make you happier?' range from "everything"
to "nothing".
Some
wanted parents to be less aggressive: "I guess my dad
could sort out his temper," said one 16-year-old girl.
"Not beat me up," was the response from a 14-year-old
girl.
Many
of the answers involve emotional issues.
Young
women in the city want their parents to compliment them more,
give them a hug and simply "love me", came from
one 19-year-old.
Let
me have a bit more freedom.
My parents have never let me play with the other children
who live down the road.
Also I'm not really allowed to go anywhere on my own without
them knowing exactly where I'm going and with who I'm
going with. |
| Talking
Teenagers survey |
A
yearning for more freedom is also prevalent among boys and
girls: "Give me space and let me make my own mistakes"
pleads one girl, 17, while this 17-year-old boy demands: "Interfere
in my life less!"
Money talks
Boys
have issues with money...
Several
young men say the best thing a parent could do is part with
more cash: "Buy me more stuff", said one (14) and
"Offer to pay my university costs", said another
(17).
Some
girls wanted a pet dog or a puppy, boys want to go on holiday
more and there were also issues of equality for girls: "Treat
my siblings and I equally", asked one 19-year-old.
Listening
was another common plea: "Listen to and value my opinion,"
said one girl (16), "Listen to me rather than shout -
that goes to my mum" said a 13-year-old girl and one
13-year-old boy wanted his parents to "try not to shout
at me as much and listen to my side of the story".
It
wasn't all negative... "Nothing, they're great"
was one 11-year-old girl's response to this question, and
a 13-year-old girl had this to say:
"My parents make me very happy but maybe a bit more pocket
money for the bus since its very expensive at the moment.
That's kinda stupid thing though!"
And
some young people just want their folks to be less concerned
about them: "Just relax when I'm out," said one
girl (15), "My parents could stop worrying so much about
me" said another (13).
|
