The Myth of Teenage Rebellion?
Sometimes, as my toddler and I cuddle together to read books on the couch, I can't help but imagine what our relationship might be like when he becomes a teenager. On some days, I dread it like a slowly-approaching disaster. On other days, I feel a sense of hope that, as I deal with my own issues, I'll be able to give him something better than I experienced. I'm confronting my old ideas about teenagers head on, and replacing them with healthier and more accurate ideas. Growing up in fundamentalist homeschooling circles, I heard a lot about "Biblical" parenting-- extreme parental authority enforced through potentially abusive levels of spanking . Because it was "Biblical", this parenting approach was thought to be the onl y correct way to parent in any culture and in any time period. In short, it was supposed to be universal. I was constantly reminded that the increasing teen rebellion in America and elsewhere was the direct result of parents...