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My wife and I have been having a discussion for months. Our teenage son bargains, begs for, and sometimes demands more independence. I believe that freedom needs to be earned, but when is it time to loosen the reins?

When teenagers crest the fifteen year mark, they begin to taste the freedom. Every time you give them a little more, it just adds fuel to the fire. Freedom needs boundaries; too much freedom, without a matching sense of responsibility is unhealthy.

In raising a teenager, mistakes teach limits. Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs on the planet. If our son is honest, he will tell you that his parents have a lot to learn and he might have a little bit to learn.  He’s right, but he needs to work on his fractions. Gotta love the teenage years.

There is no fool-proof system for giving the right amount of freedom. It’s more of a fool-acceptance system: We know we are going to make mistakes and as long as we accept that parenting is basically an experiment, we will all make it out alive.

To read more, please follow this link to the article in the Good Men Project.  You will find all of my Good Men Project content at my author page.

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