I keep reading and keep getting this advice from a lot of mothers that the best way to grow up a kid is to let him be, to let him learn from his mistakes..
I also believe that its important that he grows up to be an independent and a strong individual. That he knows how to take a decision and accepts its consequences but then where does my role as a parent comes???
I believe you cannot let them be completely. There should be a balance infact the balance has to be tilted towards parental control in the first few years of a child’s life and then maybe later it can be equally divided...till he moves out......:-)
But how to achieve this balance?
The key is to decide basis the age and individuality of child which decisions the child is old enough to take and where you need to step in?
Here's how i have somehow managed to handle the situation where the kid is a strong individual and does things his way but there are a few things which I decide and he needs to follow strictly. I do make it a point to explain to him again and again reasons for things that I ask him to do.
Obviously there are hiccups,situations which end up in tantrums, crys, yells etc etc. But the more seriously i follow the list, the more easy it has become with each day.