Everybody has parents or guardians who raised us or took a role in our life, and how were brought up affects how we think and act. But why does how our guardians raise us affect our mental health? What is it that they do that influences our mental state?

Alex Taylor says her parents influenced her mental health in a more negative way. She finds it hard to talk to them about things that are important to her, which impacts her mental health. If given the choice to change something in her relationship with her parents, Alex says she wishes she would be able to communicate with them better so they might understand her values a bit more, instead of discarding them as silly.

Camille Holdaway says that her mental health has been affected by her parents in a way that’s both positive and negative. The negative side being that she lives a more distant life and struggles to connect with people since her dads constantly moving due to being in the military. It also doesn’t help that after elementary school her parents decided to home school her, which made it more difficult to even find friends. “It’s hard to live in a word full of people and feel like you’re not apart of it.” Camille said. “I was constantly sad and even depressed, because I’m a social person and it’s hard for me to feel like I have no friends.”  The positive side of Camille’s situation is her relationship with her brother was strengthened, along with a few other family member’s which she was thankful for.

 Mary Smith, an 11 year old 6th grader says that her parents have influenced her mental health in a positive way, “They’re not the best people on the planet or anything, but they’re not that bad.” She continued to talk about how their family despite the normal quarrels between her siblings and her, they still had each others backs.

Drew Turnner, an 8th grader believes his parents have negatively impacted him. His parents had gotten a divorce when he was a 6th grader, which was difficult. His parents had become a bit irrational. “My mental health was reaching an all time low, but then they got their acts together,” Drew described, saying how once is mom and dad started to clean up their acts things started to get better. He says if he could change something in the relationship between him and his parents, he wants a better connection with his dad.

Overall, parents have a huge impact on a person’s view on life. Their actions and decisions affect children’s mental state. Most of the time, people overlook the parents position in influencing their kids mental health, but just like anybody else parents, teens, and kids alike should be aware of each other and how their actions and behaviors affect one another.