Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day;
teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
~ Unattributed Chinese proverb
As is often the case, one of the best things a parent can give their teenager is hardly a thing at all: it's room.
Room…
- to make their own decisions and to enjoy the sense of accomplishment associated with wise choices—or—to endure the consequences or poor choices;
- to learn life lessons never taught in a class or between pages in a book; and
- to grow.
Parenting is tricky; time doesn't play fair.
Days are long, years are short—before we know it, our pre-pubescent grade-schooler is learning to drive! There are no defining lines to mark seasons in development; they rarely occur overnight. Sometimes shift is so subtle you don't even realize it when you've left one stage and entered the next.
My point?
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Continue reading at Simple Mom by clicking this link; I'm eager and curious to hear your responses…!
