Possibly me least favorite response from my teens on anything was, "trust me." This applied to driving restrictions, phone or computer limitations, curfews, food choices. Pretty much any limitation we'd set was countered with the trust card. And they clearly felt it was a powerful card. If I didn't trust them, I must not truly love them. If I didn't trust them I wasn't allowing them to grow up. The more argumentative ones (OK, all of them) would resort to scripture. Love trusts... This has sensitized me to how many movies/tv shows and novels will have some point where one character realizes they need to "just trust" someone (generally a love interest - but sometimes their child - I can't think of a time when it was their parent) and then everything works out. Spideman catches them, the wormhole opens up just in time, they make the jump safely. Trying to convince them trust is something else entirely was hard. Especially when I am not always sure myself. Still I knew that love wasn't letting them go down a road I knew was dangerous, or a road I didn't "trust myself" on! I don't miss that :)
Really interesting insights about trust and the messaging we get from popular culture and the world in general on this. I had not thought about that before. Your movie references are apt. Trust in this sense makes me think a little bit about authenticity – the vague and nebulous sense that something interior that means well is necessarily good or reliable.
Possibly me least favorite response from my teens on anything was, "trust me." This applied to driving restrictions, phone or computer limitations, curfews, food choices. Pretty much any limitation we'd set was countered with the trust card. And they clearly felt it was a powerful card. If I didn't trust them, I must not truly love them. If I didn't trust them I wasn't allowing them to grow up. The more argumentative ones (OK, all of them) would resort to scripture. Love trusts... This has sensitized me to how many movies/tv shows and novels will have some point where one character realizes they need to "just trust" someone (generally a love interest - but sometimes their child - I can't think of a time when it was their parent) and then everything works out. Spideman catches them, the wormhole opens up just in time, they make the jump safely. Trying to convince them trust is something else entirely was hard. Especially when I am not always sure myself. Still I knew that love wasn't letting them go down a road I knew was dangerous, or a road I didn't "trust myself" on! I don't miss that :)
Really interesting insights about trust and the messaging we get from popular culture and the world in general on this. I had not thought about that before. Your movie references are apt. Trust in this sense makes me think a little bit about authenticity – the vague and nebulous sense that something interior that means well is necessarily good or reliable.
Thank you!