I feel like no one cares about my opinion. Every time they ask me for it, it feels like I’m not heard. They always do the opposite of what I say. For example, I wanted to go bowling for my birthday but I had to go camping instead. I didn’t want to go to the camp before that but I was forced to go! I’m always forced to go places I don’t want to go, and I can’t do anything about it.
CONSIDER THIS:
- Thank you for sharing your concerns with TeenCentral. It sounds like you’re really frustrated with having to do things you don’t necessarily want to do. Rest assured many other teens can relate to your situation.
- Being a part of a family means that you may have to engage in activities that you may not enjoy. Try to be open-minded when made to partake in new things.
- Consider talking to your parents and working out a plan where you are allowed to plan a fun activity on weekends and holidays. You could take turns planing activities by doing one of the following. You could suggest that everyone is permitted to suggest an activity and vote on it. Or you could pick a day, say once a month, that each person gets to plan an activity.
- If you plan a whole day of events maybe you could plan one event out of many that day.
HELP YOURSELF:
- What things in your life are you allowed to choice for yourself?
- How would talking to your parents about planning activities give you more choice in the activities that you engage in?
- Look back at some things that you have done with you family that you did not want to engage in at first. How did you feel during and after you engaged in these activities?
