You look to your left and see a girl wearing a crop top so short her ribs are showing. To your right, your friend walks by. That friend that isn’t allowed to stay out past 10 p.m. 

These days, parents have been taking very different approaches in terms of what their teens can wear, who they can associate with and how late they can stay out. One theory is that most parents are the most strict with first born children because they are the “guinea pigs.” 

According to Chloe Ellis, who is the third child in her family, her parents are “very reasonable people. They’re definitely more chill people. [They believe] you have to respect yourself and be conscious of the people around you.”

Although Ellis is only one case, the trend continues for other younger siblings at the school. 

“I don’t think my parents really care too much about my appearance. I feel like they’re okay with most of the choices I make or what I wear,” said Junior Elyana Steinberg. “I’d say they’re more concerned with my safety than anything else, so if I’m out too long without them getting a text from me then they’ll be concerned and want me to come home.” 

Steinberg is the second child in her family and experiences more independence than others. 

“I don’t have a curfew. My parents are definitely very chill and not strict at all,” said Steinberg.

Sophomore Gavin Rodriguez, the third child in his family, said his parents have a small amount of control.

“I mean if I’m doing something they don’t want me to do, I probably can’t do that. They don’t try to control me really,” said Rodriguez. 

Interviewing Knights who are older siblings disputes the theory that younger siblings have it easier.

Junior Kimberly Marthias said her parents are “generally pretty reasonable. They set rules, like if I tend to slip up and stuff, but generally they’re okay with it. With outfits, they just don’t really allow crop tops in general.”

“I think my parents mean to be more strict but they also understand that freedom is important, and so they are more reasonable with it,” said Marthias.

Marthias, who is the eldest child, said her parents are more “in between” — less strict, but they don’t really mean to be that way.

“As long as I don’t drive somewhere really far, they’ll let me do whatever. They’ll let me wear whatever. Obviously there are restrictions like I can’t drive to Minnesota or something. They don’t really ask questions,” said Junior Walton Bullard.

Bullard, the big brother in his family, said his relationship with his parents truly “involves a lot of communication because that way everyone knows what’s happening.”

Could the reason for the modesty in every interviewee’s response be the fact that teens want to feel like their parents are not so bad compared to the dreadful others?

According to these Knights, some parents appear to be more lenient on younger siblings. It seems as if discipline is more common among older children. Unfortunately there is not enough data to determine exactly if this is a trend and why.

However, Asher and Ella Shaul, Freshmen twins, have other things to say about their parent’s influence.

“I think our parents trust us quite a bit. For example, my dad probably wouldn’t let me wear, I don’t know, a crop top to school, or stay out super late. But we’ve started taking the bus this year, which is new, so I think he’s slowly gonna let us drift,” said Ella Shaul. “We have to be in bed by 10. You can read from 9-10, but you have to be lying down at 10. We can’t sleep with our phones in our rooms, so our phones are actually in the kitchen.¨

It’s obvious that these students have only scratched the surface of different parenting styles at the school. However, we can all agree that we have a lot to be grateful for what our parents are doing to help us thrive during our teenage years.

There is no instruction manual when it comes to parenting. Every family figures out their own way to help their students flourish.