"My Life Is Over for the Next Six Months" — Woman Says Strict Parents Make Sneaky Kids

There’s a fine line between setting boundaries while raising children and being strict. Some parents prefer to take a lax but sometimes firm approach when dealing with issues that arise. On the flip side, other parents prefer to rule with an iron fist.

If you ask most people, there is a divide around strict parenting being detrimental to a child’s behavior. Some say kids will only act out, while people think if you put the fear of God himself into a child you’ll be OK.

So, when a woman on TikTok shared that strict parents make sneaky kids, folks wasted no time sharing their sentiments about the matter. Here’s the lowdown.

Will kids be kids or do parents play a role in their behavior? In an Aug. 4, 2023, TikTok video, creator Al (@all.s.on12) shared her experience with dealing with strict parents and supports the belief that sneaky kids are the product of strict parenting.

“Having strict parents as a teenager is a crazy ride,” the video caption reads.

As the video starts, Al explains that she watched various videos of children asking their parents about different scenarios to rate how strict they would be. Interestingly, she said that she watched one video with a mother that was so strict, it reminded her of her mother and an incident she experienced in her teenage years.

“My mom was so strict,” Al said. “I lied to her about everything because she was so restrictive. Up until I moved out, my curfew was 8 p.m.”

Al explained that one of her friends' parents was not strict. As such, Al would go to her friend’s house since the parents allowed them the freedom to party and go to other folks’ houses.

Interestingly, Al said that the friend with the lax parents was at her house and wanted to go to a party. However, Al said that they’d have to sneak out.

“We can’t freely and openly go out, so we sneak out through my window, and we have a ride to pick us up down the road,” Al said.

Unfortunately, after attending the party, the people who drove got drunk so they decided not to ride with them. This incident happened in the “dead of Minnesota winter” and the girls had no jackets or anything to shield them from the cold weather.

The girl had no choice but to walk home and ultimately decided to go to Al’s friend’s house since it was closer.

“She decides to tell her parents everything and I’m like, ‘This is great for me because they’re going to tell my mom f------ everything,'” Al said. “You’re going to get to go to a party tonight and my life is over for the next six months.”

While dropping Al off at her home, her friend's parents told her that they will let her parents know even though they had no problem with the girls going out. Once Al arrived home, her mom was sleeping, so she thought she would get away with it. However, once Al’s parents and her friend's parents saw each other at a restaurant, they learned about what happened.

“My dad comes home before my mom and he’s like, ‘You’re done,’” Al recalled. “And my dad is not as strict so he was just like, ‘I would just pretend that you are sleeping.”

Al didn’t take her dad's advice, and when she got home Al experienced her mom’s wrath.

“Everything is gone, my phone, my social life, everything,” Al said. “And you know what that taught me? If I want to do anything I would have to continue to lie.”

Parents have to understand that while they want to ensure that their children are safe, setting firm, strict boundaries only lets kids feel like they have to break the rules to do what they want. TikTok users shared that they also dealt with strict parents and after witnessing the effect it had on them, they vow to do the opposite with their children.

“This is exactly how I grew up. Strict parents equal sneaky kids. I’m doing the opposite with my kid, and my kid tells me everything,” one user shared.

“Strict parents just make dangerous situations,” another person shared.

“Strict parents make their kids become excellent manipulators. It's not a good thing,” one user chimed in.

So what is the solution when it comes to sneaky children and strict parents? Some will say that children should respect authority and fall in line with their parent's rules. On the flip side, others think that parents should relax their standards and be open with children about expectations.

Truth be told, it’s natural for a child to push a parent’s limit especially when they feel that they can’t be a child — from hanging out with friends to attending social events. That said, it would behoove parents to bend a bit while also having parameters in place to ensure their child’s safety.

After all, when children feel the need to be sneaking, dangerous circumstances can occur.