Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Parents, Teenagers, Friends?

I read an interesting post titled High Hopes over at Rocks In My Dryer, yesterday. It was about Miley Cyrus who plays Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel, which we don't get but can see the Saturday morning version.

She and her dad, Billy Ray, were interviewed, and he said something about wanting to be her best friend. The post was positive about Miley's character with the hopes that she's able to retain it. The interesting part was a deep concern about her father wanting to be her friend. That lead to many posts agreeing, some vehemently, that parenting and friendship never mix.

I understand the sentiment. We've all seen parents trying to be "friends" that let their kids run down the path of destruction.

Maybe the problem is what one calls a friend.

My daughter is awesome. I'm so proud that she thinks of me as her mom and her friend. We have shopping "dates" where we eat pretzel bites and drink smoothies when we need a break. We talk about friends, music, movies, boys, and cars (more about that later). She trusts me, and I love that she feels like I'm on her side. But I'm still the mom. I still have to say, "Go to bed. Do your school work. Be nice to your brother."

As much as some are scared by parents who want to be friends with their children, I am scared by those who think parenting and friendship are mutually exclusive. I think there's room for both. What do you think?

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