Overprotective parent?

Question

I am 13 and my dad is really over protective, like this one time i went to the mall with my friend he called me and asked to talk TO MY FRIEND just to make sure that we werent meeting any guys or with any and he asked her this for like 15 minutes. another time i was spending the night at my friends house and i didnt pick up my phone because it was dead and charging and he got mad at me for not picking up the phone even though he had my friends phone number and could have called her phone and now im not allowed to spend the night at my friends house anymore. what do i do?

Answer 1

Keep your phone charged at all times and let him make his calls until he feels more comfortable.  I'm sure he wants to trust you but is worried about all the bad influences out there and the terrible things that often happen to teenage girls.

Also, try to be thankful that you have a father who loves you and is watching out for you.  My father wasn't around when I was your age, and I was allowed to pretty much do whatever I wanted, lied to my mom about who I was with and always got away with it, etc.  I am 29 now and I can tell you that a protective father who actually checked up on where I was and who I was with would have kept me in line and saved me a LOT of grief.

Hopefully once you've shown him that you are true to your word for a long enough period of time, he will ease up and give you more leeway.  In the meantime, remember that your father's job is to keep you safe until you are old enough to leave home.  I know it seems annoying now, but you will most likely thank him a hundred times over later on down the road.

Answer 2

Parents just want their kids to come home safe at the end of each day because there are so many crazy people out there these days.   Things can happen when you least expect them to and it is not that your dad does not trust you, he just knows what the world is like based on his years of experience.   You will always be daddy's little girl didn't you know that...

Answer 3

I have the same problem. When I go out, like to the mall, my dad FOLLOWS me in and sticks around forever. And then he makes me call him every hour to make sure I'm still, you know, alive. You're 13 and there's really not much you can say... Prove your maturity or something, talk to him and tell/show how responsible you are, and you don't need him breathing over your shoulder. I'm still working on this whole convincing thing--- it takes time, believe me.