How Much Do Students Tell Their Parents

How Much Do Students Tell Their Parents

Sarah Hurley, Features/Life

Parent-to-child relationships are important to keep a student out of trouble, but these days, how much do students really tell their parents? Some students hide things from their parents to keep them happy and not lose their parent’s trust. Although children mean well, what information should they tell their parents that they are not?

Many students don’t like to share information about their school day with their parents, and many parents are in the habit of asking how their kids’ days went and in response get monosyllabic answers that don’t really say anything.

Factors that affect how much information students tell their parents include who are their friends, where they go to school, or even what grade level they are in.

Freshman Emily Erwin talks to her parents a lot. “I talk to my parents mostly about what happens at school. “I don’t hide where I am or who I am with because I don’t find any value hiding these things from the,” said Erwin. She also has a close-knit group of friends that hold her accountable for her decisions that she makes on a day to day basis, so her friends’ values match hers and keep her honest with her parents.

Although some students are very open with there parents, some like to keep more information to themselves. Junior Dylan Hurley has a different opinion than Erwin on this. “I don’t hide things regarding who I am with or where I am, but I do hide things that happen at school,” said Erwin. Unlike Erwin, the relationship that Hurley has with his friends affects what he tells his parents and what kind of relationship he has with them.

Parents don’t always have an interest in asking how their students’ day at school was, so they aren’t necessarily hiding things from them, but if student’s had the opportunity to tell their parents’ that something went wrong at school, would they?

Of course, there are many who believe that it depends on how immense the problem is. “If it was a big problem that my parents were already going to be notified on I would tell them, but if it was something smaller then probably not,” said freshman Katie Howell.

Good relationships between parents and students have become more far-fetched over the years as times change and students have more availability to technology and different types of people. But finding a balance between what students share and disclose from their parents is essential to maintain a healthy relationship within a family.