( November 1, 2006) — Imagine your first date with the boy or girl of your dreams. You’re driving down the street on the way to pick him or her up, thinking that you are all alone in the car. The instant your date gets inside the car, your mom jumps up from behind the back seat to greet your date with a cheery hello. All you could do at this point is smile and act like you knew your mom was in the back the whole time. Does this sound just a little crazy? We’ve all seen or heard about all the “crazy” things parents do nowadays. Some are awkwardly funny, and yet others can fall under a much scarier category. But do these extreme antics have any effect on their children’s lives? Many teenagers feel trapped by their parents’ guidelines. “I feel like my parents have absolutely no trust in me,” said senior Jessica Chan. The first thing that comes to Chan’s mind each time she wants to go out is “I wonder how my parents are going to follow me today?” While at first she thought her parents were just being overprotective, Chan now believes that her parents are taking it way too far. She is sick of them constantly following and spying on her throughout the day. “I think the cultural difference also has a lot to do with the way my parents behave,” Chan said. “My parents are both rather new to the country and believe that everyone is out to get me.” The most embarrassing moment that she can recall is a time when she had gone out with a group of friends and one of her friends spotted her dad hiding behind trees and poles to spy on her. She now finds herself purposely performing poorly in school and behaving badly at home so that she will have to be punished and can avoid having to go out. Along with the comical “craziness” exhibited by parents, there are more extreme cases that affect teens today. “My mom has to take her medication twice daily. When she forgets to take her pills she has bizarre mood swings and ends up blowing up in my face whenever she gets angry,” said sophomore Louis Sanchez. Sanchez is always caught off guard with his mother’s strange behavior, and so he has a hard time concentrating on one thing for too long, like when he is in class or doing homework. He feels that at any moment his mother may “barge into the room and throw the remote control against the wall,” like she’s done many times before. Such on-edge relationships can have different effects on people. Due to problems at home, some adolescents are unable to communicate with their parents. There are different types of therapy available for families in need of counseling. A great option for students is to talk to the school psychologist or counselor. “It’s a team effort at school. Teachers and counselors talk to one another and try to help students as best as possible,” said school psychologist Aylen Bagdasaryan. Bagdasaryan is at school Wednesdays and Thursdays each week and available to all students. According to Bagdasaryan, beginning to work out a family problem begins by first developing trust, because the rate of success depends on the desire to get help. Although the school doesn’t offer family counseling, Bagdasaryan or school counselors can refer students to an outside therapist.