This can't be said enough. you can be their friend when they are in their late teens-early twenties, but in the formative years, you are responsible for ensuring they understand the world, have morals, WISDOM and GRATITUDE especially. Many people miss this, but your child is not your peer, and they are not yours either. There is a question Dennis Prager throws out to parents, and many, many fail: He asks "which would bother you more as a parent, that your child smoked or cheated on tests?". So many parents chose smoking b/c "it's bad", you can always quit smoking but repairing morals is significantly a more difficult task once you have a firm footing on the road of compromise.
This can't be said enough. you can be their friend when they are in their late teens-early twenties, but in the formative years, you are responsible for ensuring they understand the world, have morals, WISDOM and GRATITUDE especially. Many people miss this, but your child is not your peer, and they are not yours either. There is a question Dennis Prager throws out to parents, and many, many fail: He asks "which would bother you more as a parent, that your child smoked or cheated on tests?". So many parents chose smoking b/c "it's bad", you can always quit smoking but repairing morals is significantly a more difficult task once you have a firm footing on the road of compromise.