Parents often have a difficult time letting go of their children. After all, parents spend a significant amount of time raising their children for 12 or 14 years and can’t just wake up one day and say, “Sure, you can do whatever you want. Have fun!” Most parents have invested a lot — emotionally, psychologically, financially — into their children’s’ lives. Just because that child hits teenage years doesn’t change how many parents feel toward their children and their expectations of control in their child’s life.
However, that expectation of control becomes more and more of an illusion as a child ages. At around age 11 or 12 for most children, they begin to understand that while there may be consequences for violating one of their parents’ rules, they are their own person and have a lot of opportunities open to them for curious exploration.
But adults will be adults, and try their best to continue to exert significant control in their child’s lives, even as they turn into teens and demand more freedoms.
However, that expectation of control becomes more and more of an illusion as a child ages. At around age 11 or 12 for most children, they begin to understand that while there may be consequences for violating one of their parents’ rules, they are their own person and have a lot of opportunities open to them for curious exploration.
But adults will be adults, and try their best to continue to exert significant control in their child’s lives, even as they turn into teens and demand more freedoms.
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