“Children and teenagers shouldn't be allowed to do what they want. Parents have their rights, too, says Wayne Short, a famous British psychologist. In his opinion, children who have too much freedom will become “difficult” adolescents. Mr. Short believes that modern parents must take old-fashioned attitudes and guide their children’s behavior so that they become adolescents who respect other people`s rights – including their own parents.
Among other things, the British psychologist thinks that parents mustn’t fear telling adolescents off if they are not behaving properly either at home or at school. Also, parents have the right to phone teachers to find out whether their teenage son or daughter has been missing classes recently. In fact, parents must be on the alert for any strange attitude their children might take.
Some recent interviews with parents show they are very much worried that their teenage sons and daughters might become troublemakers. Speaking to a magazine reporter, William Wavy (62) said that his son, Phil, did not want to work or study when he was younger. Wavy added that, when Phil turned twenty, things got much worse. One night, the father found out that his son had stolen a car and had been taken to a police station. “I simply got desperate and tried to help my son”, says William. He managed to take his son home, but a few days later the police called again. Phil had been arrested for robbing a house. This time William did not raise a finger and Phil is doing time in a state prison.
Should Willian have tried to free his son again? Did he do the right thing? These are questions which will remain unanswered for some time. Willian now feels that it may have been his son’s upbringing that went wrong. He says that he should have searched his son’s bedroom and got to know his friends. But he also feels that now he has the right to live in peace and that his son must be held responsible for his own acts.
In the sentence “In his opinion, children who have too much freedom Will become ‘difficult’ adolescents”, Will suggests: