In today’s society, most teens try to have a good bond with one or more of their parents. All sorts of relationships vary and can have great influences on the student and his or her performance in daily lives.

“My relationship with my parents is good,” freshman Drew Desbien said. “They care for me and listen to me when I need to vent.”

Senior Colton Fisher said the same.

“I have a good relationship with my parents,” Fisher said. “I think parents think the same as their children in a lot of ways but are just older than us.”

Some students suggest the idea that teenagers are probably closer with one parent than the other.

“To be honest, I think students are probably closer to their mom or dad rather than both,” Fisher said.

Senior Nik Wolfe said he has different relationships with his parents.

“My mom is easiest to talk to because she is more level headed,” Wolfe said. “But my dad knows what is best for me and can sometimes be aggressive in his way of trying to help me best.”

Nik also said most of his friends however don’t seem to have a good relationship with their parents.

“The majority of my friends are in foster care or don’t have parents who care about them.”

Another “old school” way of getting close with parents but doesn’t seem to happen much anymore is eating at the dinner table as a family.

“I probably have a regular dinner at the table with my family once a week,” Desbien said.

Students and the relationship with their parents can sometimes even affect their performance in school. American History teacher Ron Leikam stresses it immensely.

“Absolutely it affects the school performance,” Leikam said. “Whatever the parent enforces is most likely the way the parent will follow. Parents who expect high of their children will have higher chances of their student succeeding in school.”

Leikam also talks about recognizing students who don’t have a decent relationship with their parents.

“If I have students for a full year, I think I might hear a comment here or there about their home life but other than that not really,” Leikam said. “I’m not quick to judge.”

Whatever the case may be, students and the relationship with their parents can affect lifelong values and young teens seem to be antisocial.

Although having a strong bond with parents can be hard, students manage to do so.

“I think I will always be close with my parents,” Desbien said.

16hbaxter@usd489.com