Why you should, every once in awhile, give your child a “Juliette’s Night.”
Let’s face it, the best way to learn a lesson is to experience it for yourself. Some children are so sheltered growing up, and raised so strictly, that they are never able to learn or experience anything on their own. With even the slightest bit of wrongdoing, their parents practically send a massive press release, letting the world know what their child did. This scenario tends to end up in one of three ways:
- The kid rebels, as a kid, and becomes a perfect liar, because they are always having to hide and sneak around about everything little thing they are doing. This is not good, but they will grow up believing that they have to lie about everything, even when they don’t have to.
- They wait until they are 18, and go absolutely crazy; breaking all the rules, trying all the things. My good friend was raised by ridiculously strict parents, and when he was of age, he became a #2, and has been in and out of prison/jail ever since he was 18! No bueno.
- They take it all in. They listen to everything their parents tell them, with no questions. This seems great, right? Wrong. Then, they grow up to always look out to others for the answers. They can’t make decisions on their own, and they may never want to venture too far outside of their comfort zone because they haven’t been taught to do so.
So what I mean by a “Juliette’s night,” is to lay off the strictness, even if it is just for a night or two of the month, and let your child live their lives and learn their lessons. Can you image where Juliette might be if her parents weren’t so controlling? Give them guidance, but also a little more of freedom. It’s all about the balance.
