Rachel Canning, 18, is suing her parents after they refused to pay for the rest of her private high school and college education as well as the lawyer fees that have come as a result of suing her parents.

Canning claims that her parents, Sean and Elizabeth Canning, kicked her out of the house last year and have cut her off both financially and emotionally. However, her parents both claim that she moved out on her own because she did not abide by the house rules; both of her parents currently want Rachel to return home.

There is no doubt that Rachel’s parents are well within their parental rights to make the decision to cut their daughter off until she agreed to play the rules they established. As parents, it is their obligation to ensure that their daughter is safe and cared for; it is not their obligation to make sure she is pampered and spoiled so much so that she defies responsible behavior.

Rachel Canning’s reaction to her parents stipulations is not all that uncommon. According to the Red Dirt Journal 20 million minors emancipate themselves from their parents. According to the U.S. census in 2002, eight percent of teens 18 or younger move out of their parent’s home. It appears that teens are more apt to move out because they want to be on their own or think that they are capable of handling themselves, as was the case with Rachel.

Beyond being dissatisfied with her parents’ rules, Rachel also filed domestic abuse charges against her parents last October. A teacher also has claimed that she witnessed the mother and daughter having a rough argument. However, what mother and daughter don’t get into the occasional yelling match over something at that age. Their verbal sparring match does not necessarily indicate abuse.

Furious that their private life has made it to the court system, Sean Canning claims “a Division of Child Protection and Permanency representative visited the family home and found Rachel was a “spoiled” and petulant child and ended the investigation.”

After moving out, Canning has taken up residence at a friend’s house, and the friend’s father, John Inglesino, has paid for the bills for the suit. If the judge does not rule in favor of the teen, where does this leave Inglesino? Broke. Rachel will face even more debt than she currently does.

The courts should take into account the “spoiled and petulant” labels assigned to Rachel as they make their decisions in the future. Clearly Rachel has a history of trying to get attention when she does not get what she wants.

So far the judge has denied her requests to force her parents to pay for living expenses and the rest of her private high school education. However, they are going back to court on April 22, 2014, to see if the parents must pay for impending college costs. However, if they do not have to pay for high school or basic expenses then the parents should not be forced to pay for college.

Since Canning is an accomplished honor roll student, and has been accepted by several colleges she should realize that her actions are of those of a 12 year old. At 18 parents are not required to owe their child anything unless it is stipulated in a signed, legal document.

Too many times young adults get it in their heads that they are 18 and they now have the power to do as they please. While children, and in Canning’s case, teenagers, are allowed to emancipate themselves from their parents at 16, they also should be willing to accept the consequences of doing so. As a result of her self-imposed separation from her family, Canning forfeited her rights to have financial support from them. An emancipated teen should not expect his/her parents to stick around and clean up the mess and if they do expect it, they may end up being sorely disappointed. The sooner Rachel Canning learns this lesson the better.

As of this week, Canning has decided to move home. Hopefully the move was prompted by realizing how immature her actions were throughout the last few months. With any luck, Canning realized how lucky she is to have loving parents who have welcomed her home and she will make the necessary changes to her attitude so that she will become a productive member of society when she leaves home for real.