Gen Z Woman Whose Parents Were 'Never Strict' Reveals Results as an Adult

If you had strict parents growing up, you probably wished they were more open and gave you more freedom. Yet a woman from Cape Town, South Africa, has gone viral after saying that her "non-strict" parents are to blame for her lack of interest in partying now that she's an adult.

In a clip shared on TikTok on Sunday under the username @izzylivesinsa, the young woman can be seen bored on the couch, binge-watching telenovelas as she sips tea, instead of being out partying as most people her age do.

The post comes with a caption that reads: "POV {Point of view] your parents were never strict so now you're 21, drinking green tea with honey on a Saturday night and binging Modern Family."

A survey carried out by Pew Research Center of 3,757 U.S. parents with children younger than 18 found about 45 percent of American parents in 2023 identified as overprotective. Twenty percent said they gave their children too much freedom, although only 30 percent of them "stick to their guns too much."

Strict or not strict, being a parent is a hard job, even harder than some may expect. in fact, 36 percent of Americans last year thought that being a parent was actually somewhat harder than they previously thought.

So being a parent is hard, but is it worth it? According to the survey, 58 percent of Americans find their parental role enjoyable, and 44 percent of them find it rewarding. Surprisingly, only 21 percent find it stressful.

The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 5.2 million views and 786,000 likes on the platform.

One user, Maddy, commented: "My non strict parents ask me every weekend if I'm going out or to a party or something and when I say no they said 'why not.'"

And Larrissa asked: "I'm confused I had strict parents someone explain this to me." Ash answered: "Yeah we got blackout drunk at 15 so now drinking is not like new and much fun." And Cheach added: "We don't party anymore."

Tanatswa Matonda wrote: "So real, I'm 19 and retired." And Alexa posted: "And watching how my peers that would be like 'you're allowed to do that????' growing up, became the most unhinged, impulsive people ever."

Another user, BROOKLYNNN, commented: "I got the reckless out of my system by 18 so now I'm 24 and a grandma." And Mara Jean added: "Literally, I have no want or need to drink alcohol, party, etc. They made the conversations comfortable and open."

Newsweek reached out to @izzylivesinsa for comment via TikTok chat. We could not verify the details of the case.

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