Driving Privleges for eighteen year olds...!

Are you the Oldest or the Baby of the family? Because either one could explain your parents behavior. If you’re the oldest then you are probably treated like a “guinea pig” and a role model, by which I mean that you are being watched by your younger siblings and if they really restrict you in things you can do then they won’t have to answer the inevitable, “but you let Jessica do _“ If they get all the ground rules set with you (by trial and error of course) they’ll have an easier time next time around. On the opposite spectrum, if you are the baby, then they know how the older siblings got into trouble and they figure they can avoid it all together by not letting you do them. Most obvious answer whether you’re older/younger/middle or only is that they LOVE you with everything they have in them and they just want you to be SAFE. Trust me when I say that I know that’s not what you want to hear (I haven’t been out of my teens very long) but I know that that is at least part of the truth to why your parents wouldn’t want you to go. I’m sure your parents are the type that follow the news too and there are a lot of SCARY things that happen to people (the scariest of which happens because of other people) Just recently I heard about a teenager who called both of her parents trying to get a cash advance from her ATM card, they both said no, because her card wasn’t set up to do that. Those two calls were the last time anyone ever heard from her because the reason she made those calls was that a man had taken her hostage and he killed her. When I hear about things like that I get very worried about how I would feel if I were in that situation. My son is only 5 right now, so at least I have a while longer to hold on to him but I don’t know how I could go on if something happened to him. I know I haven’t really offered any solutions…first off I would calmly ask them if you three could set up a time for a family meeting. Never just walk up to them and say “we need to talk” if you can help it because they may not have time and they may be distracted and try and rush through the conversation (which wouldn’t be good for you because they already have their minds made up) Give them concrete examples of how safe you are (no accidents in X amount of time) How you are responsible/dependable. Plans or contracts between the two of you citing the rules you all have agreed on (The FOLLOW them to the letter) Explain to them that you understand that they are worried about you and you appreciate them for that because you know it means they love you but you also need some space. A saying I love in times like these is “Mom and Dad, you’ve given me roots, but now it’s time to spread my wings.” Good luck! :)