Do parents or other adult relatives should make important decisions for their older (15 to 18 year-old) teenage children? Some people, especially teenagers, may argue that teenagers are old enough to make important decisions for them because they are old enough to know what to do is beneficial. Others and I, however, think that parents must be the decision makers when it comes to critical problems. The first reason is that parents have more experience than teenagers’. Another reason is that parents have to spend money on some critical issues so that they have the right to make decisions.
First, parents experienced more than those teenagers, so that parents know more about what the teenagers’ future will be. For example, parents know the benefit to study in universities but some of the teenagers may not know. Some teenagers, especially those who do not like to study, may think that attending university for further education is so boring that can do nothing beneficial to their career. But in fact, parents’ opinions are right. So, parents should make decisions for teenagers on issues such as “attend university or not”.
Second, old teenagers are not completely independent because that they cannot make much money by themselves. For example, Tim, a 16years old boy thinks that the price of AIG’s stock may rise in 4days and he wants to spent 10000$ to buy them. But can he do that without parents’ permission? No. because Tim has no money generated by his own before. He needs financial supports from his parents. In this case, the decision making right belongs to Tim’s parents rather that Tim. Another example is that Sam, a boy from a not rich family in Illinois, gets UIUC’s full scholar ship and U Chicago’s admission without any financial aid. Which school he should go to is not up to Sam, in stead, up to Sam’s parents for the same reason.
To conclude, teenagers at 15 to 18 age can make normal decisions (important decisions excluded of course) most of the time. In these cases, parents can give teenagers advices and the decision making right belongs to teenagers. However, when it comes to important issues especially related to large amount of money expenditure, the decision making rights totally belongs to parents.
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outstanding !!
ReplyDeletegood fluecncy. clear idea. but it is always hard to determine weather a issue is critical or not.A issue's importance is also a personal view.If you think go to university is not important ? but your mum thinks it is important .then you follow your mum. By contrast, if your mum never has any college experience and she thinks it is not important to go to university. However you would like to got to university. then you make the dicision do not go to univeristy.Same issue with different importance. So my view is following your mind and be responsible for it.
You two guys did a good job. In the Untied States, parents normally have their children make a decision by themselves and get them to be responsible for the decisions. Actually, the way of raising children is depending on each culture and family. :D
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