When Children Ignore Your Advice

This is to be expected, right? After all, even us adults may have the tendency to ignore the advice of other people who are close to us. Yet what bothers me is the fact that some children, especially teenagers, would ignore their parents’ advice and then follow the same exact bit of wisdom if it comes from someone else.

I haven’t really thought about this idea much until I read Kori Rodley Irons’ post “They Might Need to Hear it from Someone Else (Too).” She says:

No matter how wise and forthcoming I think I am with my children, they are never as keen on my advice and wisdom as I imagine they should be-in fact, they are often downright resentful! Over the years, I have learned that often times it is not the advice that is sour-they just need to hear it from someone else.

Though this is not always the case, there certainly are times when it happens. Is this because of something not quite right in the relationship between parents and children? Maybe, but I would like to think that children go through a stage wherein they need reaffirmation from elements outside of their immediate family circle.

This is even truer for teenagers who tend to look to their peers for acceptance and affirmation. Or perhaps they have an uncle or an aunt whom they feel an attachment to. No matter who it is, they just seem to need to hear certain things from them as well – even if their own parents have already said the same thing.

I guess I should not be that bothered. After all, I do the same thing to my husband sometimes – or so he says.

Written by Lara on June 22nd, 2008
Filed under Growing Up, Relationships, Teens

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