How to Get Over Fear of Being Embarrassed by Parents

Lots of people, especially teenagers, have a fear of being embarrassed by their parents. Unlike an irrational phobia of peanut butter or airplanes, most of our fears of embarrassing parents are based on real events--some that may have happened in public or in front of our friends. Few parents intend to embarrass their kids, and most are willing to talk and change their behavior if it's important to you.

Instructions

1. Talk to your parents calmly and respectfully when you want them to change their behavior. Avoid being angry when your parents are embarrassing you. Instead, realize that they probably don't mean to embarrass you, or if they embarrass you on purpose they may not realize how bad it makes you feel.

2. Choose your battles when confronting your parents. Your parents may not change all of their actions to make you feel more comfortable. You may need to get used to some of their actions and not let them bother you, while asking your parents to be more thoughtful about others.

3. Give your parents kind reminders of small things you want them to do to avoid embarrassing you. If you hate it when your mom calls you by that embarrassing nickname, for example, decide on a signal that you can give her if she uses it by accident to remind her that it bothers you.

4. Realize that there may be things that you do that embarrass your parents, too. If you're asking your parents to modify their behavior to accommodate you, ask if there is anything they would like you to do differently and be respectful of their requests.

5. Remind your parents that you love them, and never insult your parents personally when asking them to do things differently.

6. Work on becoming comfortable with who you are and where you come from. As you grow up and feel more confident in your own abilities and personality, that ugly car your parents drive may not be so embarrassing because you realize that it really doesn't change who you or your parents are.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be too concerned about what your friends think of your parents. While most people are embarrassed of what their parents do when around their friends, your friends probably don't pay much attention to your parents anyway. Try to let your parents' embarrassing behavior slide as much as possible, realizing that you probably pay more attention to them than anyone else does.