Who are you, and what have you done to my parents?

Gone are the years when your dad and mum were the loving, jovial parents you knew them to be. When they willingly allowed you to do what you wanted without a word of dissent, laughed and immediately forgave and forgot when you screwed up and took you out for chocolate ice-cream by means of consolation.

Now they seem to channel the spirit of the Fuhrer himself, yelling at you for no good reason, questioning you as though you're some kind of runaway prisoner when you go out, and restricting you from anything and everything.

Yeah, you're probably right: your parents have been replaced by evil alien clones of themselves. And millions of kids are probably going through the same thing right now. In fact, there might as well be a full-scale invasion of the normal people (that's us) on Earth by the Dark Forces (the parents, or rather, their villainous replacements).

The good news is, you still have a chance of getting your real parents back. You see, putting aside all the alien replacement jokes, the real reason your parents act like the twins of Voldemort is because of a very simple thing- you're a teen. And your parents realise that this is the time you start acting out, and because they expect you to do so, they begin all the scolding and restricting early. For example, an innocent outing with a guy friend will have your dad assume the position of a stern headmaster, and a return home just a minute after your curfew will have your mum cut off all your TV privileges for a month.

Despite all this, you know your parents love you, and do all this because they have your best interests at heart. So, in order to restore peace to the household, you must use the healing and diplomatic power of compromise. Start by explaining how you feel to them, because, (hard to believe, yeah?), they have gone through the same thing. Be patient and emphasise your point clearly, there's no reason to get all worked up over nothing. For example, if you want to come home late from an outing, list all the valid reasons for doing so, wth a promise to be safe, not wander and to always have your phone with you. After all, parents are suckers for the whole maturity act. 

Rein in your protests when they say no and listen to their side of the argument. Your parents may turn out be right in the end. You don't want to be on the other side of the "I told you so!" lecture, do you?

So keep calm and fight your way out with a straight face. Get your normal parents back while you still can! :-)