Out of all the people in this world you should make an effort to be nice to, it is your parents. Your parents are the ones who support you, and raise you, so why be mean to them and take them for granted? 

Growing up, my parents taught me that I need to earn what I get.  Neither of them will buy me things that I want unless I deserve them. 

As much as I hate it, I get why my parents make me pay for a lot of the things I want, but don’t need; it teaches me how to be responsible. Having to use my own money makes me only buy things that I really, really need, and am willing to pay for, rather than useless things. So, I feel that when children are granted every single thing they want, they are missing out on the necessary lesson of responsibility. Not only are children not going to learn what being responsible is all about, they are going to expect to get everything they want, which is not what happens in real life.

Because of the way I have grown up, I think that is the way a household should be run. I think that children should have certain responsibilities, as should the parents. So, when I hear about my friends or other people at school who don’t have to do anything to help their parents out, I think it’s weird.  I believe that kids need to earn what their parents give them, and a good way to earn it is by doing little things around the house. 

So many of my school mates live in households where they do absolutely nothing around the house since their parents do it all for them. I do not mean to critique the way that some people parent their children; I am just stating my own opinion.  I personally feel that children who get whatever they want eventually expect to receive everything they want, and if they don’t, they aren't happy. Do not get me wrong, most of us get mad when we don’t get the things we want, but kids who are so immune to not getting the things they desire throw fits and get super angry. 

One person I know from school has two parents that love him unconditionally.  They do whatever he wants, and it no doubt has had a negative effect on their relationship. Years ago, he began to expect things to go his way, and when they didn’t, he went off on his parents. He throws fits and won’t talk to his parents for days until he gets the thing he desires. Even though he ignores his parents, he still expects them to make him dinner, wake him up in the morning, and do all the things around the house. I would never say anything to the kid, but I want to tell him that he is acting ridiculous! When he is mad at his parents, he basically broadcasts it to the word and sounds obnoxious, and he doesn’t even realize it.  I just look at him and think, "Really?"  Your parents grant you everything you could ever want, and yet you have the nerve to get mad when you don’t get one tiny little thing. 

Many children yell at their parents when they are stressed, and unfortunately, I will admit that I am one of them. Sometimes all of the stress I feel builds up inside of me and I need to explode, so I do; sadly it is usually at one of my parents. I don’t exactly know why, but I don’t think I could ever yell at one of my friends, and I think that subconsciously I know that if I get them mad, they could chose to not be my friend any more.  But, your family will be there for you through thick and thin, so yelling at them sometimes has no effect on them, they just listen but they don’t get upset about it. 

There are so many teenagers out there who truly have no responsibilities at all.  They go to school, go home, do homework, eat, shower, and sleep-that is it.  People who have lives like this have so much free time and can go to bed at a decent hour. It is so not fair! If I were a parent with a kid whose life consisted on the activities I previously mentioned, it would make sense for them to have more responsibilities than someone who is barely ever home (like me). 

On an average week night, I get home at about 9:30 p.m., and I usually have only been at home for a half hour to forty-five minutes after school, and in that time, I eat and watch TV. I leave home and then don’t return until late at night, yet I am expected to keep up with my chores and homework, it’s nearly impossible!  I am not saying that I should have no chores, but it makes no sense to me that so many kids do nothing besides school and schoolwork, yet they are expected to do nothing to help around the house. 

I think that being taught to be responsible is a big part in preparing yourself to live on your own.  If you are not given any responsibilities, you are not going to know what it is like to be independent. If parents get their kids everything they want and don’t make them do anything in return, their child will be unprepared when it comes time for them to move out and survive on their own.