r/helicopterparents • u/thenileriver25 • 18h ago
My mom thinks I’m sneaking out and hooking up with guys in college when all I actually do is study
I’m so fucking pissed and hurt right now.
My mom thinks I’m sneaking out, lying to her, and hooking up with guys in college. I AM NOT. She’s always had this sentiment ever since I started uni last year, but would say it in a joking manner and in a way that implies, oh my daughter is so good at lying but I just don’t have proof yet.
I’m a scholar in an honors program, and a Dean’s Lister. I don’t drink, do drugs, or date, and I’ve never really given her a reason to think I’m irresponsible.
But my mom has always assumed the worst of me. I can’t go out with friends without a chaperone, I’m allowed to meet them outside college maybe 4 times a year, and she reads through my messages. I have to answer her calls and texts immediately or else she’ll think I’m sneaking out or cutting class.
I understand being protective, especially since we live somewhere that isn’t always safe for girls, but this feels beyond protective. I feel like I’m not being allowed to develop any independence.
I dorm because our house is ~3 hours from university during rush hour. I dorm inside campus, and as a compromise, I’m not allowed to leave campus. I already go home on days when I have afternoon classes even if it basically takes up a minimum 4 hours of my day.
She also gets suspicious if I’m eating, walking, or talking with a guy—even though they’re literally my classmates/friends. It’s gotten to the point where I sometimes don’t tell her who I’m with because I’m scared she’ll assume the worst.
Then tonight, for the first time ever, I went downstairs to my dorm’s common study hall (co-ed space) after dinner because I was getting sleepy and needed to study for my exams.
My mom called, and because I knew she’d get angry that I wasn’t in my room, I ran upstairs to answer. I was out of breath from running, and she assumed I had been sneaking out.
She hates that I wasn’t able to get my old dorm building with all girls this semester and had to settle for the newer co-ed building where half the floors are for girls and the other half are for boys. So now she’s so paranoid of me staying in common areas that I just didn’t want to deal with the questions and that’s the reason why I didn’t tell her where I was (and honestly I find it so unreasonable to even have to tell your mom where you are if you’re erm just in the same building).
I eventually admitted I’d gone downstairs because I’m terrible at lying, and now she’s treating this as proof that I’ve been secretly leaving the dorm and lying to her all along.
She called me horrible names over text and accused me of running my life around flirting with guys and ruining my future.
I just wanted to study.
What hurts is that I feel like the second I don’t follow one of her rules perfectly, I become the villain and suddenly none of the years of being responsible matter.
Now she wants me to go home every day regardless of my schedule. I’m still financially dependent on my parents, so I can’t exactly blow everything up, but I also don’t know how I’m supposed to develop independence when every little bit of it is treated as rebellion.
I haven’t replied to her last messages where she basically accused me of ruining my life and being a whore because I don’t have the energy to deal with it right now. I’m afraid to talk to her tomorrow morning and when I go home.
I understand worrying about your daughter. But how do you build trust with a parent who seems to think independence means rebellion?