Letting Go
Jan 18th, 2010 by Dr. Paul
One of our moms wrote a very heartfelt comment in response to our episode entitled “Hold the Fences”. Her daughter is 18, and wants to “run wild” a bit. She has tried to be a good parent and expressed that sometimes it feels like she has failed in her job as a parent.
The principle of agency determines that everyone drives their own life – this is true for your children as well. Especially as they become older teens and young adults, children will naturally take more control over their lives.
Letting go can be a strategic step toward helping your maturing children to negotiate the challenges and difficulties of running their own life.
Begin practicing before children hit an age of independence with things that are less costly.
Our subscriber summed it up well in her blog comment – “maybe the best thing we can do at that point is to honor their freedom to choose for themselves, try to keep the relationship going by being kind, and pray they will want to come back once their pain has made them wiser, humbler, and more compassionate.
