How to talk my parents into letting me go to the beach with a friend?

Hmm, how old are you? Is your friend a girl? Do your parents know their parents?
Generally, people’s parents aren’t psychopaths, they might be overprotective – but generally it’s for your own good.

im 16 and my friend is a boy and is 15 yrs old and ya my parents know his parents real good

Hm, well was the church thing pre-planned?

Tell them what you’ll be doing, everyone who is going (mention parental units), what you’ll be doing (like surfing, wakeboarding, bonfires.. whatever), and tell them you’ll call them. If you say you’ll call them make sure to follow through otherwise they’ll be hesitant to let you go out afterwards if you don’t call.
Also, if you already had plans to go to the church deal then they probably just want you to stick with your prior arrangements.

If it is a planned activity that you committed to, you probably should attend it instead of going to the beach. The beach can wait, can’t it? It’ll be there all summer.

BTW, showing maturity by reacting to their decision with grace is one way to guarantee that they’ll grant you a longer leash next time. My parents were both VERY over-protective of me, but I respected their decisions. By the time I hit senior year of high school, I no longer even had a curfew. They trusted my judgment because I demonstrated maturity. Might work for you, too.

There are a lot of factors we do not know because we do not know your parents side of the story.

The Prior Obligation alone is enough reason but for the sake of discussion lets add a few more possibilities:

Will there be a RESPONSIBLE adult with you at all times
Where will you sleep/ eat -Will there be costs involved
Are you a strong swimmer
Do you burn easily and forget to put on block
Have you always been responsible and stayed out of trouble
Has your friend ever been in trouble
Do you have any allergies or health conditions that could be life threatening
Is the beach area safe IE: Gang activity or rip tides

Aside of the above questions:

If you have a prior obligation (Church event) that trumps spontaneous trip to beach.

Your parents do not sound psychotic- they are some of the few that CARE enough to guide you to a solid adulthood. They have good reason for not allowing you a solo trip with a buddy for a week.

to go along with MisterBlueSky85…..you should definitely go to the previously planned activity. part of having character is that you stick to your commitments and sometimes do things you don’t want to do.

breefields reply: ya we do it once every year at this time

Can your friend who is a boy come to the church thing with you?

Ask JILL_E

I would ask them to give you this one chance, and let everything ride on it. Show them that you’re determined to prove any of their fears wrong, and make sure to do so.

After you’ve done that, you may have earned more freedom through example.