I can date whoever I want, so never.

I didn't, but my foster sister did. And my parents had a good reason for telling her to stay away from him. He was manipulative, controlling, and abusive. She married him. They had a kid. They've broken up now, and getting him to pay child support is like pulling teeth.

there's never been a case of, "No, you cannot see him," just, "I really, really don't like him."

he turned out to be a total loser.
trust your mothers, ladies.

Yes that was my ex. It was my dad that couldnt stand him from the beginning. I couldnt really understand whether it was because he was being irrationally unfair and overprotective over me, or he had reason to hate him. Because at the time I  was young, naive and unable to see past what he portrayed and what I wanted to see. I was stubborn. But I dont think that parents should forbid their kids from seeing people, I think that they should allow their kids to figure it out on their own. Thats where parents go wrong. It not only pushes their kids away from them, but it prevents them from being able to judge other characters. Its an ability all of us need to strengthen... and we cant unless we are given the chance to. I guess parents think, act and speak out of fear and love for their children. But we cant see that until later on.

Yup, and it didn't work, and for good reason. He ended up getting a girl pregnant, dropping out of high school, marrying her, having another kid with her, divorced her, and is now going through a custody battle.

Krista

@AllMyNamesAreTaken@xanga - Hah,  Agreed.  I like that version too.

I dated someone that my parents really disliked, and it ended up horribly. I was 15 at the time so relationships at that age are difficult anyway before you can get around, but it was so hard. We ended up breaking up because of my parents 

my parents met her after i told them we were together and they told me if we end up getting married, they won't show up at our wedding and my father also told me that if that were to happen i'm no longer his son, so we broke up.  it's not easy, but at the same time, wasn't that hard.

Nah my parents were pretty laid back about that and let me see whoever I wanted. They trust my taste and usually like my boyfriends.

I was the subject of such a point.  My ex's parents absolutely hated me.  I was accused of being physically abusive, emotionally damaging, and an overall bad influence on their daughter.  She was not allowed to be with me at my house for any longer than 35 minutes, and her mother would always show up unannounced to bring her home.  I was not allowed to drive her on dates/to school, and her parents refused to have me in their car.  They had the audacity to ask my parents to drive the two of us everywhere.  I'd been driving a little over a year at this point.

The problems I faced in that relationship were entirely unfounded.  Her mother was borderline insane.  There were several false accusations made over the course of the relationship at me by her mother, so I ended up avoiding their house altogether.

I understand that most of the time parents have the right idea.  In this case, I would have to disagree very strongly.

The whole thing ended extremely poorly.  I couldn't deal with the false accusations and lack of personal time, so I left her.

Parents don't really realize how little they have to do with how their kids turn out.

It's very important for parents to be there for their children: keeping them fed and clean, keeping them active, having them schooled, and STEERING (not FORCING) them in the right direction, etc, but when it comes to controlling where a kid goes to school or who they hang out with/start dating, no matter how much a parent intervenes (or not), it will make little difference in the long run.

It's the balance of Nature AND Nurture.

Making mistakes with relationships, though sometimes the concequences turn serious, doesn't make or break a person as a whole. It's a learning experience.

And, haven't you noticed that the most sheltered children are usually the ones who go crazy 'bad' when they hit either high school or college? I've known a few people like that....

Of course it is important to look out for extreme cases, though, like someone who is obviously (not allegedly) abusive and the like. Parents should be aware but not involved.

:]

my parents forbid me from talking to my bf, but that is because they completely rejected me when i told them i was bi about 5 months ago. I told them that i broke up with him when they threatened to stop paying my room and board and make me come back home to live with them.

i still see him. but its only been 6 months... 3 months of that was when i was with my parents over the summer and they made me go to counseling.. blah blah blah... im 17 about to turn 18 in a few months, but im in college 5 hours away from home.  so now that im back at school they can't really monitor me like they did before over the summer...
I feel horrible for lying to them... but even if i did break up with my bf, who is a great guy, it would not make me straight so i don't see the point. I was honest with them... eventually when im older, i'll attempt to be honest with them again... but for now,while they still support me and "love" me, i'll just have to let them believe what they want to believe....

this is like one of those post secret things... sorry for such a long post. I just feel like in my case, my parents don't have fair reasons or judgments for why i can't see him. Its not because he's abusive,ect, they never even met him... its because what im doing is "morally wrong" and it will only "ruin my life."

They blame me... the kid who made all a's in high school and went to college two years early on scholarship,did a gizzillion hours of community service and never did drugs... for breaking up the family.

This life is ridiculous.

I did have a forbidden relationship in high school. I'm an evangelical Christian and he was a Jehovah's Witness. My parents hated him and told me I couldn't date him, but did I listen? Of course not! I kept it a secret, but they found out eventually and we broke up. They were probably right though. It wasn't just the religious differences that made the relationship bad; it was that he pushed me too far, emotionally and physically.