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My
16-year-old daughter is driving me crazy. She is sassy, noisy and
selfish. Her room looks like a pigpen, and she won't work any harder
in school than is absolutely necessary to get by. Everything I taught
her, from manners to faith, seems to have sailed through her ears.
What in the world do my husband and I do now?
I'm going to offer you some patented advice
that may not make sense or seem responsive to the problem you've
described. But stay with me. The most important thing you can do
for your daughter is to "just get her through it." The concept is
a bit obscure, so let me make an effort to explain it. Imagine your
daughter riding in a small canoe called "Puberty" on the Adolescent
River. She soon comes to a turbulent stretch of white water that
rocks her little boat violently. There is a very real danger that
she will capsize and drown. Even if she survives today's rapids,
she will certainly be caught in swirling currents downstream and
plunge over the falls. That is the apprehension harbored by millions
of parents with kids bouncing along on the wild river. It's the
falls that worry them most. Actually, continued...
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