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In my family, we were all raised as christians. I am now 15 years old and have decided I am atheist. The existence of a god is completely illogical, so I do not believe in it. I have thought about this for the past 2 years, and my mind is made up.
I told my dad and step-mom, and they were upset but got over it pretty quickly. But they still make me go to church with them every sunday morning. They make me go to sunday school classes. They make me go into their room with them every night and pray with them. Is this not ridiculous?!
I bet they force you to eat your food they provide?
Will they force you to get a driver's license and perhaps use their car?
Can you put on your big boy pants and just participate out of respect for them as your parents?
Or, you can be like the person who proposes that you make a scene in church and embarrass your providers. That will be good for a long term relationship. Of course you can leave home being the independent person you are and make your own way in the world. The world is ready to embrace you and provide for you and care for you. Perhaps the "bomb thrower" will take you in.
Our do-your-own thing sounds good until you confront life and life smacks you down like a roach.
I suspect most 15 year olds are atheists; few at that age believe anything for longer than 5 minutes or can focus for that long.
Good luck, you are going to need all you can muster.
I bet they force you to eat your food they provide?
Will they force you to get a driver's license and perhaps use their car?
Can you put on your big boy pants and just participate out of respect for them as your parents?
Or, you can be like the person who proposes that you make a scene in church and embarrass your providers. That will be good for a long term relationship. Of course you can leave home being the independent person you are and make your own way in the world. The world is ready to embrace you and provide for you and care for you. Perhaps the "bomb thrower" will take you in.
Our do-your-own thing sounds good until you confront life and life smacks you down like a roach.
I suspect most 15 year olds are atheists; few at that age believe anything for longer than 5 minutes or can focus for that long.
Good luck, you are going to need all you can muster.
Lol...
Every doctor will tell you that if your child doesn't want to eat don't force them.
Doesn't take a genius to realize that applies to most nonessential activities, including church...
Either you are not a parent or you are sleeping on the job. Setting your kid up for independence AND maintaining the potential for 'long term relationships" is the parent's job, not the teenager's.
And apparently you can't read. I didn't take the nuclear route until after my parents refused to listen or compromise for over a year. Their fault. They could have at least LISTENED. Children are people, albeit little people. They are not little slaves beholden to you. Their thoughts and feelings count.
You go ahead though... Squashing your kid's independence and making them realize that what they think/feel/want doesn't matter is clearly the beat way to teach them independence, respect or responsibility...
Every doctor will tell you that if your child doesn't want to eat don't force them.
Doesn't take a genius to realize that applies to most nonessential activities, including church...
Either you are not a parent or you are sleeping on the job. Setting your kid up for independence AND maintaining the potential for 'long term relationships" is the parent's job, not the teenager's.
And apparently you can't read. I didn't take the nuclear route until after my parents refused to listen or compromise for over a year. Their fault. They could have at least LISTENED. Children are people, albeit little people. They are not little slaves beholden to you. Their thoughts and feelings count.
You go ahead though... Squashing your kid's independence and making them realize that what they think/feel/want doesn't matter is clearly the beat way to teach them independence, respect or responsibility...
Too bad you cannot speak with my 3 adult children to get their opinion on my parenting. There were few rules in our home but the first one was mutual respect especially to their mother. Insulting their mother was a capital offense. There is a vast difference between independence and showing good manners. There is never a good excuse or reason to embarrass your parents.
The OP should be grateful his parents are not meth heads or boozers. But then like so many, he seems ungrateful for the good things.
There is not much worse than a spirit of ingratitude.
Too bad you cannot speak with my 3 adult children to get their opinion on my parenting. There were few rules in our home but the first one was mutual respect especially to their mother. Insulting their mother was a capital offense. There is a vast difference between independence and showing good manners. There is never a good excuse or reason to embarrass your parents.
The OP should be grateful his parents are not meth heads or boozers. But then like so many, he seems ungrateful for the good things.
There is not much worse than a spirit of ingratitude.
Key words... MUTUAL respect.
Respect is a two way road. Parents that mistreat, disrespect, abuse or otherwise malign their children shouldn't expect the children to behave differently.
As a mother I expect you will agree with me...
Or should maligned children just "take it" and become maladjusted adults?
Respect is a two way road. Parents that mistreat, disrespect, abuse or otherwise malign their children shouldn't expect the children to behave differently.
As a mother I expect you will agree with me...
Or should maligned children just "take it" and become maladjusted adults?
Like everything it depends on definitions of "maligned". Fifteen year old males are in a period of their lives where they can succumb to some rotten stuff. If his parents are maintaining a firm hand, that is their call. In my opinion, parents are in charge until their children turn 18 and leave the home. If they continue to live at home beyond 18, they still have duties to their parents.
Excellent response. When my son was the age of the OP, he started giving his dad and me so much grief over church attendance every Sunday that we finally just asked our bisop (we are Mormons) whether we should continue to insist that he attend with us or just stop fighting it. He advised us to just stop fighting it, which is what we did. Our son is now 33 and hasn't been to church in ages -- but we have an excellent relationship with him, which I attritube to our decision to let him make his own choices.
Do you know what the motivation may have been?
I still went to church with my parents, but I found it boring (how many times can you hear the SAME thing) and that most people were looking around at who they had gone to grade school with at the parish and/or neighbors they knew.
When I got to college, I had a job on the 7 to 3 shift at a hospital on Sat. and Sun., so I didn't go to Mass anymore. I could have gone on Saturday night, but either studied or went somewhere with friends. My parents didn't care, based on the above schedule I had to keep. From that point on, my church attendance has been sporadic. What do I see as an adult? It's STILL about being "holier than thou," with even more emphasis placed on keeping up with the Joneses.
Like everything it depends on definitions of "maligned". Fifteen year old males are in a period of their lives where they can succumb to some rotten stuff. If his parents are maintaining a firm hand, that is their call. In my opinion, parents are in charge until their children turn 18 and leave the home. If they continue to live at home beyond 18, they still have duties to their parents.
But respect does run both ways.
Lol
You realize that church does absolutely nothing to prevent the "rotten stuff?"
You guys all act like church is the end all be all.
Everyone knows the preachers kids always turn out worse than everyone else.
Our pastor's daughter was the first to get pregnant at 15. Oops...
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When my son was the age of the OP, he started giving his dad and me so much grief over church attendance every Sunday that we finally just asked our bisop (we are Mormons) whether we should continue to insist that he attend with us or just stop fighting it. He advised us to just stop fighting it, which is what we did. Our son is now 33 and hasn't been to church in ages -- but we have an excellent relationship with him, which I attritube to our decision to let him make his own choices. 
