First off…Welcome to Fluther! As a parent of adult children, I have had similar interactions as those you are going through. My job as a parent was always to help make my children the best adults they could be. And as a good parent, you always want the best for your kids. The balancing act is to know when to step away and let the kids be adults.
At 18, you are legally an adult. I don’t know if you have let your parents know that you are ready to lead your own life. Please note…leading your own life is not the same as being out on your own. It could be the same, but isn’t necessarily. I also don’t know what your relationship with your parents has been thus far in your life. Have they always dictated to you what you will and won’t do? Have they asked what you wanted? Have you voiced opinions? I’m guessing you have always pretty much done whatever they asked of you without pushing back. Not saying that as a bad thing, just an observation. The fact they are trying to dictate 6 weeks of your life at age 18 tells me they have established that pattern.
So you have several options. Option 1: Do what they want. You would give up 6 weeks of your summer and would get training in whatever they are asking you to get trained in. Option 2: Open rebellion. This is you planting your feet solidly in the dirt and telling them in no uncertain terms that you are done doing whatever they want you to do. Option 3: Sit them down and talk. This will entail you having some clue as to what you want to do. All options have pluses and minuses.
Option 1 continues is the least confrontational, but doesn’t sound like it will get you to the end point you want. I wouldn’t recommend it as this will not help with your own establishment of yourself as a person. Option 2 is the most confrontational and will likely end in a shouting match at some point. Especially if, as I suspect, you have never gone against your parents in any significant way before. It will come off as something entirely new and combative to them…they won’t understand nor like it. Option 3 is probably the hardest but would likely get you the result you want. But this option will require a good amount of preparation by you.
First, you need to fully understand why you don’t want the training. Is it that the training is in a subject you have no interest in or is it that it will take you away from friends and 6 weeks of doing nothing? Is this just the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back and you really want to lead your own life? You need to understand your reasons fully before you can articulate them to your parents. I would recommend you have some clue as to what you want to do with your life…have dreams and goals for reaching those dreams. Be able to tell your parents what is in your heart and what you want obtain from life. And when you sit your parents down to talk with them, be the adult in the situation. Be calm and rational. Leave your cell phone somewhere else, turn the TV off…give them your full attention with no distractions. Ask them why they want you to go to this training class (if you don’t already know). Listen to their answers. Explain to them your reasons for not wanting to go. Staying at home for the summer to hang with your friends may be a perfectly acceptable answer if, for example, you are planning on going away to college in the fall and will likely not see them for a long time. Also, going to a training class in a subject you have no interest in is a huge waste of money.
Again…make it a discussion. This means talking but also listening. It means remaining calm. Don’t discount your parents feelings. They want something for you…you need to recognize that as them caring for you. Don’t ball up their feelings and throw them back at them. But if you want to be an adult, be an adult.