- Feb 9, 2001
- 7,136
- 2,072
There's an old saying: "If you look for something, if you look long enough, you're bound to find it." It's called "self-fulfilling prophecy."
I believe that people, including teens, should be afforded the privilege of privacy if they desire it, and not all do. I'm not sure I would define privacy as a "right", but it may be perceived as an entitlement by those who regard it as such.
As a teen, I used to meditate (I prefer to call it that as opposed to 'daydreaming' as my mother used to call it), do a lot of reading, and also write my young thoughts in a diary. It was important to me to be able to do this in the privacy of my bedroom with my door closed. Not because I was doing anything "wrong" or was being sneaky, I simply liked a sanctuary where I could go and be alone, and still do to this day.
Even so, my parents always knocked before they entered my room because they taught my brother and me to do the same before entering the privacy of their bedroom. That, to us, was a lesson in respecting someone's privacy. I guess they could have argued it was their house and could do anything they wanted, but they didn't because it was more important to them to teach the lesson of respect as opposed to a dictatorship. There was no double standard that way.
To teach respect, I believe we have to show respect. To teach trust, we have to trust. If we don't, then why would we be shocked or surprised when spouses or significant others don't respect each other's privacy?
Why hold a child that's done no wrong, accountable for the actions of other children in the general population that may have done bad things? Just because we think there's a chance they may do the same to us? I don't think that's fair and certainly not an indicator of a "good" or "smart" parent--in my opinion.
Often so many people complain about Black children not having any "home training." So often we hear constant complaints about how they dress, how they act, and how they lack respect for adults and each other. If we don't teach them and show them respect, then how can we blame them when they don't show it or even know what it looks like?
I hope our youth aren't living by the old parental rule of complete domination by parents or are expected to live by the principle of "Do as I say and not as I do." We have to show them how we would like for them to behave and meet them at their point of need.
MHO,
Queenie
I believe that people, including teens, should be afforded the privilege of privacy if they desire it, and not all do. I'm not sure I would define privacy as a "right", but it may be perceived as an entitlement by those who regard it as such.
As a teen, I used to meditate (I prefer to call it that as opposed to 'daydreaming' as my mother used to call it), do a lot of reading, and also write my young thoughts in a diary. It was important to me to be able to do this in the privacy of my bedroom with my door closed. Not because I was doing anything "wrong" or was being sneaky, I simply liked a sanctuary where I could go and be alone, and still do to this day.
Even so, my parents always knocked before they entered my room because they taught my brother and me to do the same before entering the privacy of their bedroom. That, to us, was a lesson in respecting someone's privacy. I guess they could have argued it was their house and could do anything they wanted, but they didn't because it was more important to them to teach the lesson of respect as opposed to a dictatorship. There was no double standard that way.
To teach respect, I believe we have to show respect. To teach trust, we have to trust. If we don't, then why would we be shocked or surprised when spouses or significant others don't respect each other's privacy?
Why hold a child that's done no wrong, accountable for the actions of other children in the general population that may have done bad things? Just because we think there's a chance they may do the same to us? I don't think that's fair and certainly not an indicator of a "good" or "smart" parent--in my opinion.
Often so many people complain about Black children not having any "home training." So often we hear constant complaints about how they dress, how they act, and how they lack respect for adults and each other. If we don't teach them and show them respect, then how can we blame them when they don't show it or even know what it looks like?
I hope our youth aren't living by the old parental rule of complete domination by parents or are expected to live by the principle of "Do as I say and not as I do." We have to show them how we would like for them to behave and meet them at their point of need.
MHO,
Queenie
