Guest guest Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 Paula, I wanted to offer some encouragement for your situation. I was on a retreat many years ago and I remember the speaker for the weekend had written a book that really summed up much of the problems we have as parents. Of course I could care less at the time but now that I have 2 kids and a third on the way, we are really in tune with this fact. The title of his book was something like this... " You Kid, Me Parent. " In other words, we need not enter the battle with our kids because there isn't one - unless of course we let there be. To me, a 10 year old may seem quite independent but in reality they are still fully under our control and in need of our discipline, support, love, encouragement and guidance. They do not know best so their decision making ability should be guided more closely than a wise adult. This should start as an infant where a child should have the most restraint on their own decisions. As they grow and mature, they should be given more and more freedom in this area. If they demonstrate the tendency to make the wrong decisions, then this is potentially the toughest period for parents. Often it is caused by a result of excess freedom when they were not ready (which is really easy to let happen as a parent) for it so reversing this freedom is extremely difficult. Addressing it, as difficult as it may be is however the real loving thing to do. We have a small window of opportunity to teach the truth to our little ones. As you know, time really flies by. As for implementation, there are probably as many ideas as there are families so I will not make any suggestions. I will however encourage you to continue to make sure you child knows right from wrong. Don't feel bad if you need to show some tough love. I would also suggest that it be done with lots of clear communication given the age of the child. The best, Jerrod Sessler ASA / NASCAR Driver Sessler Motorsports Marketing 206.387.7090 www.jerrodsessler.com www.hope4health.org " most of us live beyond need " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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