We hear the phrase “strict parents create sneaky kids” and you may ask if or not. And the answer is yes this is true, strict parenting leads to a lot of causes like fear of consequences, isolation, emotional problems, distorted beliefs, and psychological strain.
Kids who are subjected to strict environments are most likely to find ways to lie and hide things from their parents because they are scared of the consequences or may want to experience new things that their parents will not allow them to do. Kids may also start to feel isolated and different from the rest of the kids because others do things that they wouldn’t be able to relate to which can cause kids and teens to rebel just to fit in.
Sephora Louis (11th grader) stated “I don’t think my parents are as strict as some parents but sometimes they do get strict on certain things that they shouldn’t be strict on. So I’ve just kind of learned a way to navigate around their rules”
A strict parenting style leads kids to more emotional problems too to explain that they don’t feel as if they can tell their parents certain things that they are going through or certain feelings they are having because their parents don’t have that open line of communication with their kids which causes those kids to not feel comfortable enough to open up. Not having this comfort with their parents can cause them to keep major things from them.
Anthony Garcia (12th grader) stated “I feel like as a boy I had to take my own freedom, even though I wouldn’t do anything that’s bad and I know would put me in harm’s way I feel like at a certain age you need to gain that freedom because whether we like or not we are growing up”
Having a strict parenting style also affects the kid’s mental health and their mindset for example since they have been brought up with such strict beliefs this can cause them to have distorted beliefs which is also known as cognitive distortions which is pretty much a biased way of thinking which can have a negative impact in a person’s life. Not being understanding of others or even caring for others and their beliefs. These distorted thoughts can contribute to mental health conditions like emotional reasoning, overgeneralization, personalization, catastrophizing, mental filter, labeling, should statements, jumping to conclusions, and mind reading.
Not to mention the psychological strain that is caused to the child worried about the beliefs of their parents but also wanting to experience things for themselves and wanting to be like kids around them. And this psychological strain can lead to depression, anxiety, substance use, and even suicide.
For the most part, nobody is perfect and parents try their best to make sure their children are as happy as possible. And sometimes they are extra overprotective because they don’t want anything happening to their kids but parents should strive to have better communication with their kids to not have this stress on both of them.
