There are a lot of things kids hide from their parents, and here are the top ten most common things kids hide:
1. Phone Activity
They know that they wouldn’t have it if their mom found out about half the stuff they do on their phones.
2. Gender Identity
It’d be awkward to tell their parents the ins and outs of being genderqueer when they know their parents don’t believe in it.
3. Relationships
Teens who know their parents aren’t going to approve of their boyfriends or girlfriends are likely to hide their relationships from them. Teenagers are crafty at keeping their relationships a secret.
4. Bullying
Bullied kids aren’t likely to speak up because either their parents will embarrass them or they don’t care.
5. Mental health Issues
There are lots of reasons to keep them hidden. Perhaps they don’t feel they can talk about it with their parents, kids don’t want to burden them, or they don’t want to change how their parents view them due to the stigma surrounding mental illnesses.
6. Social media
If the parents don’t think they should have it, but everyone else does, they’ll want it too.
“They think having an Instagram will put me at risk of kidnapping and gang-raping. So they don’t know I have one.” – Shared by a teenager.
7. Clothing
At school, I dress like a man. My system is that I walk to school, under the excuse that it’s exercise and ‘an escape from toxic electronics and gases,’ and generally end up at one of my friends’ houses, where I put on jeans, a sweatshirt, and change my shoes. Then my friend’s parents drive me home. After school, I go to a friend’s house and change back into my clothes. – Shared by a teenage girl.
8. “Where are you?”
My mother got an iPhone a couple of months ago, so she used it as a location tracker. ‘What’s up with you at dairy queen?’ ‘Is that the park down the road? I’m coming to see!’ ‘Whose house is that?’ ‘Where are your friend’s parents? Put them on the phone! We need to talk about where you’re going!’ It doesn’t stop. Now I can trick the tracker and make it look like I’m somewhere when I’m not. – Shared by a teenager.
9. School
Teens sometimes don’t tell their parents about school projects, assignments, who they work with, who are in their classes, or what classes they take. Parent-teacher conferences haven’t happened yet, and they won’t know until then.
10. Religion
I grew up in a Christian family. Although my family isn’t super strict, I still worry about their reaction if they find out I don’t believe in God. I’m very interested in Wicca, it’s an excellent religion, and I feel comfortable with it. I can’t find my branch, nor do I have the right stuff. Being a minor, I can’t exactly hide anything from my parents, like studying under an experienced witch or having books. – Shared by a teenager
