Teen bill of rights, #1-10

1. If my parents have problems, they will recognize that I did not ask to be born and I am not a trained counselor. Accordingly, they will take up their problems, whether they come from their marriage or from their individual lives, with a counselor rather than with me.
2. My parents will respect the judgment of a counselor and will not try to know better than the counselor when the professional recommends what they should do.
3. My parents will try to prevent problems with each other by being honest with each other, even when being up front is either uncomfortable or inconvenient, particularly as they preach to me to tell the truth.
4. My parents will not use family friends or anyone who knows both of them to gang up on the other parent.
5. My parents will ask their friends and relatives to tell them what they need to know instead of what they want to hear and to encourage them to do what is right for their children even if it is inconvenient for them.
6. My parents will not ask my relatives, my friends, my friends’ parents, or any other person to cover their bad behavior or advocate something they don’t actually believe, just because my parents told them what to think or what to say.
7. My parents will not decide what names—first or last—to use themselves or to give to their children based on fueling their own egos.
8. My parents will obey the laws of the country and region in which they choose to live.
9. My parents will remember that it is not my job to be their parent; they will not rely on me to take care of them.
10. My parents will obtain the education and training to create at least a middle-class lifestyle. Poverty can be their choice, but it shouldn’t be forced on me.