Doctors have parents fill out information on their teenage child’s mental health. The HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) law allows parents access to their child’s medical records. Teenagers should be able to fill out their own information, rather than their parents, because no one knows you better than yourself.

A parent won’t always know their child’s feelings, especially if their child is a teenager. Teenagers don’t usually tell their parents how they feel, or may not even show it.

“We each have our individual minds,” senior Jose Portillo said. “I’m pretty sure doctors would like to hear from the source of where their thoughts are coming from.”

While some say teenagers should be able to fill out their own information, others don’t agree.

“Some [kids] don’t like to open up to people,” sophomore Anthony Melendez said. “Others may like to open up to someone such as their parent.”

Parents play a huge role in their child’s life. Some children grow up and have a close relationship with their parents, while others grow up and become teenagers whose bond with their parents fades.

Peaceful Parents Confident Kids said in an article that the way we interact with our young children, the words we use, the tone of our voice, and even our body language can influence them.

“[It really does] have a huge impact on whether they will feel comfortable talking to us about the big issues they will inevitably face,” Janet Lansbury wrote.

Teenagers become distant with their parents, which isn’t always necessarily a bad thing, but some don’t feel comfortable talking to their parents for whatever the reason may be. Some teens will prefer to talk to a teacher, or school counselor, rather than their parents. Letting teen fill out their own information is vital to the teen’s overall mental health.