Now what..?

My little man's not quite so little anymore... In July he'll be eleven. Almost a teenager! As much as I love to watch his development, I often wish children would stay children forever. Like yesterday, for instance.

Here's the gist of the conversation we had:

"Tidy your room up please; it's bedtime soon."

"I'll do it in a bit."

"No, tidy it now. It's bedtime soon!"

"No, I'll do it later. You can't control me..."

Meanwhile, he was in the process of tidying up his awful boy-mess. But for the first time, he had me stumped! I sense the approach of difficult teenage-hood approaching. Does that mean "you can't control me" will become a regular saying?

Oh dear. And I'd hoped that the threat of being grounded/losing pocket money/confiscating the computer would suffice until he was much, much older. Don't misunderstand me: he's a great kid, and I'm quite proud of how well-behaved he is compared to other kids I know.

My old neighbour's son, for instance. He's a couple of years older than my son, and it seems his mum has simply lost control. He doesn't go to school, because he simply walks out; he swears at everyone; he smokes... When the lack of parental respect breaks down, what methods of discipline can you employ, except to bind and gag them? (only joking, of course!)

At the end of the day, he'll always be my "little man". I only hope I will always be the "Mum" he respects.

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