Too controlling. Overly strict parents try to control every aspect of their teens’ lives. They don’t allow their teens an appropriate amount of freedom and independence. When an overly controlling style is combined with lots of affection, it can feel smothering and intrusive. When it’s combined with a low degree of affection, it can come across as authoritarian and domineering. Either way, when parents act too controlling, teens often respond by becoming stubborn and oppositional. It’s a vicious cycle that can fuel family conflict and seriously erode the parent–child relationship.
