Comments on: What I Wish My Extroverted Parents Knew About Raising an Introvert

By: Carson Hall

Carson Hall — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:43:00 +0000

Even if I could go back in time and explain to my parents, they would never understand or accept it. Although I had very few friends, my mom would find something wrong with them and forbid me to be friends. Then she would always tell me to find friends to do things with. This is one reason why I’ve been going to a therapist since I was a teenager.

By: Christine Carlson Whittington

Christine Carlson Whittington — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 19:22:00 +0000

This made me think of my extrovert mother-in-law who Iiked to tell me about my husband’s previous girlfriends who were bubbly. Unlike me. I do not bubble. I became very close to my introvert father-in-law. We spent hours together silently doing crossword puzzles and I miss him so much.

By: njguy54

njguy54 — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 09:47:00 +0000

Yet another “Introvert, Dear” article that I could have written myself, nearly word for word. My parents saw being popular and having lots of friends as signs of success; plus, the introvert/extrovert terminology didn’t exist back then. In addition, they were members of the Silent Generation that came of age in the 1950s, and that valued conformity. To them, it wasn’t ok to be different.

Like you, I had a good childhood and don’t hold any of this against them; it was what it was. And it wasn’t just them. I recall teachers, camp counselors, etc yelling at me for not playing with the other kids when I just needed to be in my own space. To be a teenager back then was to be in a popularity contest and a social dance you participated in whether you wanted to or not. And I suspect not much has changed, as a lot of it has moved to the digital realm. But at least now, we recognize introversion and (hopefully) no longer treat it as a problem or a character flaw.