Look, I've never been a parent before, but I can say with complete certainty that parenting is HARD WORK. No one really teaches you how to be parent. Sure, you can follow examples taught to you by your own parents, or you can take cues from parenting books, TV shows, and movies, but it's really something you have to navigate on your own.
All that to say: No two parenting styles are the same. Some parents try to act like your friend, and others rule with an iron fist. Some parents are helicopter parents, meaning they hover over their children and aren't great about honoring boundaries. Let's talk about those parents for a moment.
Perhaps you grew up with parents who didn't give you a lot of space. You weren't ever allowed to close your bedroom door, you had to give them your phone every night before bed, and you had a strict 10:00 p.m. curfew until you went away to college. You were a rule follower and mostly didn't push the envelope, but you got into a fight with your mom once and closed your bedroom door. She absolutely freaked out and had your dad take the door off its hinges. You didn't "earn" the door back for months.
Or maybe your crush asked you out on a date while you were in high school, and you were really afraid to tell your parents. They wouldn't let you go get ice cream with him until they met him and his parents, and even then, they insisted on being present for the date. You were so humiliated that you avoided dating until you moved out.
Or maybe you remember your parents having a really hard time sending you off to middle school. You were "at that age" where you were getting a little angsty and craving more independence, but your parents refused to let that happen. They chaperoned every dance, volunteered at every event, worked as substitute teachers at the school, and often showed up at lunch to check in. The school eventually had to make them dial it back because one of them was always there.
