I'll probably get flamed but I gotta answer this from the parent's perspective. Now, I dont' know your specific situation, but I am the stepdad of three boys now aged 19, 17, and 14.

The oldest was never bad as a child. In grade 8 he began hanging out with a couple of guys who had no rules at home. He called them 'his friends'. Well, soon after we got a call from Walmart. He had been caught stealing. I went and talked the store and cop out of pressing charges. His mom and I wanted to be cool parents so we didn't come down too hard on him. After all, almost everyone swipes something as a kid. We hoped that he had learned his lesson. He didn't.

Next, he was caught breaking into houses with 'his friends' during the time he was supposed to be in school. They would steal money, booze, whatever. Then he got caught breaking into my house, HIS HOUSE, going for you know what. A neighbour seen them and called the cops. Well, 'his friends' ran, leaving him to take the fall. I was awakened by about 5 cops stomping around my home. Luckily, my grow was secure and they didn't find it. That was the scariest day of my life. At that point I had no choice but to make him choose: his friends or his family. He moved out a week later.

Long story short he dropped out of school in grade 10, and now works at a KFC.

After that we set down the rules for the other two. School was a priority. We wanted to know where there were, and who they were hanging out with. Sometimes we didn't let them go places that they wanted, and we made them be in at a certain time.

Now, the middle one is finishing high school this year and is applying to college. He is a great teenager, very responsible, has a job and helps out with chores around the house. So, we loosened the reins a bit and allowed him more liberties.

The youngest is in his first year of high school. His marks actually improved from grade 8. He also does chores, and we limit his computer time and he goes to bed at 10 on school days.

I guess the moral of the story is, sometimes teens don't need freedom, they need rules. They need to learn reponsibilities, and how to make decisions that will benefit their well-being. Sometimes you need to take life seriously now, in order to enjoy it later.

Sorry for the long post but everyone was saying 'fuck the parents' and all that. But maybe they just want you to grow up to be a happy, well adjusted, responsible adult.