my parents read my journal, what do i do?

[bingoluvr15]

so today i found out that my parents had read my journal. they told me that what i was thinking about was a distraction and i HAVE to tell them these things. for example, i was writing about a boy who is interested in me. they said that he was a distraction. and i get that but they honestly crossed the line. on top of that, they said that writing in a journal is a privilege and that they ARE allowed to read my journal. i have never heard them say something so fucking dumb and insensitive. i honestly don't know what i should do now. i honestly hate them for invading my privacy like that. i have NO privacy in this house what so ever except for my journaling and they stripped that from me too

[Eowyn7]

That's seriously messed up. Your parents are wrong, no doubt about it. There is no reason for them to read you journal, ever, except maaayybe if they thought you were doing something really dangerous. But maybe not even then. Get a lock for your journal or do your journaling online.

[Calm_mama]

Hi Bingoluvr!

Agree with Eowyn7. Get a lock for the journal or password protect a word doc. When I was 15 my mom read my diary and it was a huge betrayal of trust. I think that was the angriest I'd ever been as a teen. I'm so sorry your parents read your journal!

PS a boy interested in you sounds like a good distraction, right?

[Eowyn7 in reply to Calm_mama]

My parents were really overprotective and I don't think they ever went through my things (that I know of!)

I kept a journal on a flash drive at that age and I didn't tell anyone about it. I liked that i could plug it into any computer to work on it. This was before Google Docs though, lol.

[Hidden]

I am so, so sorry about this. May I ask how old you are? This is definitely not good. I wish I knew what to say on how to help you. I agree with the above posters that you should get a journal that has a passcode on it. I used to have an app on my phone that was a journal with a protected code. It was pink. I wish I still had it so I could tell you what it was called. I used that when I was in high school. You shouldn’t have your privacy invaded like that. Try to keep the peace with them as much as possible, I know it’s hard. I have been where you are with really strict parents & it can feel like hell. The good news is that when you become an adult, you can get your own place & they can’t tell you what to do anymore. Stay strong, dear. <3

[bingoluvr15 in reply to Hidden]

thank you so much, and im 16. they talked to me about it and they said it was an accident but they never apologized for it.

[SpeakUp5694]

My post is much later than the others, but I am sorry to hear that your parents read your journal. I have been going through something very similar where my parents are very intrusive and I am well over the age of eighteen. What I took from such a experience is I had to tell my parents that I do not want them going though my property and that this is another form of abuse. Parents override the rules they make for their children and you end up switching roles as you get older. What I mean is you end up parenting them as what they are trying to do is test you in every possible way. All you can do in such a situation is either hide your journal in a safe place or like others said lock it so they cannot get to it. (Even though they could pick the lock). I am on the assumption that you tired talking to your parents about how you felt and they came back with a response spelled out like they are the parents, its their house so your journal is their business. In such a situation I would reach out to the person you wrote about to tell them how you feel so that you both can be stress free (assuming the person you like is aware of your feelings) and from there you can maybe start a blog of your own or facebook page maybe to help spread awareness for people with similar situations. Parents use this tactic because I have found that parents are afraid of seeing the truth behind you as a person after all of what they have taught you. Stay strong and remember it is okay to parent your parents sometimes because what it comes down to is they forget what it is like to by your age. Stay strong and know that you are worth it!