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Now dont get me wrong.. when i say being rebelious, i do not mean out right defiance or doing anything criminal that will put the child or anyone else in danger. I do not mean dropping out of school, doing drugs or anything of that nature.
We all have parents or guardians who we all love and respect, but be honest... Growing up with them was not always easy... Especially having West Indian parents which we all know can be stubborn and head strong at times.... They sometimes have plans for us, such as what we should study in school, what music we should or should not listen too, who we should hang around with, who we should date.. so on and so on....
My question to you is it ok for children to be head strong and rebel against their parents?? like listen to musc their parents don't approve of, study a subject like art instead of law or medicine, hang around friends their parents don't approve of, date one of them fast girls momma don't like, play football even though mom says its a waist of time and too rough....
In my opinion, a little rebelion is a good thing for a child and is healthy... It asserts independence and spares the child from being overshadowed by his parents when it comes time to do things like move out and live on their own.
what do you guys think??

Absolutely! I think a parent's job is to lay a foundation (in the early years), then learn to let go, and trust in the job they did in raising their child. Like they say, let go and let God. But, I know, letting go is a helluva lot easier said than done.

I was 'rebellious' in the way you spoke of, and it was a good thing for me. I argued with my dad day and night over rap music, but I absolutely owe Public Enemy and Black nationalism that was part of rap in the late '80s for my covert militancy now :p It introduced me to everyone from Steve Biko to Huey Newton etc etc. no doubt.....In grade school I once got into trouble with a friend of mine, and dad and forbid me to hang out with him. Today, he loves him, our dads are best friends, our moms are best friends, and I was in his wedding couple years ago.....

And it's sad when parents try to force a profession or a mate on a child. They gotta make their own mistakes and do their thing (within reason of course); you bore a child, not a clone.

hornaman -
'a little rebelion is a good thing for a child and is healthy... It asserts independence'. i think u answered the question u'rself. :)

i can c this being weaved in w/ the other thread u posted about parents being over-protective. in all fairness though, i think it's safe to say a child can gain independce in other ways than rebelling against parents. independence can be gained in various methods. whether it's from playing a critical position on a sports team, being the leader of a club (drama club, debate team, etc.) or other places where the child is giving resposibility, independece will be asserted.

jalani -
i feel u on arguing w/ rap music to parents in the 80's. most of them never paid attention or understood the lyrics and only went by the negativity pushed on the tv or news (joke to whatz being pushed now).

salt

Rebellion is not only good, it is necessary as long as it is controlled. I too was a rebellious child. From an early age, I loved soccer. It would get licks on a regular basis for playing. Yet I continued. When I was in college, my mother wanted to throw me out of the house bacause I colored my hair. Yes, I was part of the punk age in NY. Today, my mother and I reminisce about those days. We can laugh because even though I didn't listen, I turned out ok. I never did drugs or drink and even though I partied a lot during my college days I got good grades. Guess what...I am still in the soccer thing.