teens

Actually this is a very good response and I do appreciate it even though it has brought home a few things. Perhaps when parents tell there children to stop doing whatever it is that the parent objects to, we should instead actually look at the issue and ask ourselves what will this really hurt. Maybe as parents we should pick our battles more or better yet stop thinking of them as battles and "give a little" for lack of a better term. Save the "don't do this or that" for the real things that would be dangerous to do and let them do the things that don't really hurt them, even though we may think they're stupid. Like skip through the mall singing or yell out the window at a friend, freeze their sister's bras, or cry to much and for too long over a dumb boy who's not worth it. The trick is where to draw the line and how often you will let your kids step over it. Because if you never let them step over it then they will feel suppressed and if you let them step over it to much then you will lose their respect. Children, as much as they hate it, need boundaries, need stability, need to know how far they can push and when to back off. It's just a thin tricky line though and as parents it's easy to mess up, and sometimes hard to fix. I do however believe this is a phase that all teens go through. I went through it and now really appreciate my mother and am sorry for all the stuff I put her through while I was trying to find myself, and because she was there for me the whole way,even though I know she didn't like me either then, what I ended up finding was a good person. This is the point in a persons life when they get to know themselves, they want to do everything experience it all, it's a natural phase in life, and I will be there for her just like my mom was for me.