A few months ago the Tiger Mom made many of us think twice about our own style of parenting. Time Magazine's The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting suggests parents need to allow children some free time and even allow children to make (and learn from) mistakes. How do we protect our children and foster their independence?
It didn't take long this fall before an unsupervised house party in Brookline got a lot of teens in hot water, both at home and at school. What would you do if you came home from a night out of town to find that your unsupervised teen’s invitation to a few friends had spiraled into a full-on house party, complete with alcohol, marijuana and noticeable damage to your house?What can we do to prevent this from happening? Amy Chua’s new book and Wall Street Journal article about the superiority of the stereotypical Chinese Tiger Mom has raised a firestorm of controversy on the differences between parenting styles. But beyond the controversy, does it make us think twice about our own style of parenting -- what works, what could use some improvement? If you haven't read the article yet, check it out -- "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior." I'm concerned about my sophomore going out with upper classmen and the drinking/driving issue. How do other parents address this issue? And if I tell my child to call me no questions asked, am I condoning the use of alcohol? My child says that going to a "party" means alcohol will be present. He feels pressured to belong and go to these parties. How do I advise him on this issue? What strategies can help him "fit in" without getting into trouble? Though subjective, the very real and heavy demands of school, sports, performing arts and social activities can contribute to having higher than average stress loads for teenagers. How do parents help their children 'deal' with this? Personally, I would like to find a local yoga class for teens, or, better yet, institute one at the High School. When our freshmen kids are invited to "hang out" at the homes of new friends whose parents we don't know, should we call first? When kids say they’re going to “hang out” in Brookline, what are some of the hotspots? And what do those places imply? What could be happening? And what kind of limitations should parents impose? Currently, BHS allows no smoking in any part of the school, but does let students smoke in front of the school on the sidewalk. What can parents do to counteract the impression that smoking at BHS is pervasive? | DISCUSSION BLOG
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