Reply from Karen, Child's Age 15 and 17 - 3/13/02 - IP#: 152.163.213.63Thank you, Jeffrey, for your kind words. I completely agree with you. Maggie, I am sorry but I disagree with you. The respect we give our teenage children should not be a function of their physical maturity, while their emotional maturity is largely a product of how we treat them. As a mother, I feel that I am loving and caring for my boys. I am also protective of them, even if this means sometimes protecting them from my own maternal instincts. I have wonderful memories of when they were younger, but I cannot hold on to that and try to force that on my children. Instead, I have wonderful new experiences as I help them to grow, develop, and assert themselves as young men. That also means giving them the privacy and respect they want and need. It even means encouraging them to come to expect privacy and independence more and more as they get older. Smothering someone can never be good for them. |