On Parenting

Well,
As a former teen-parent I've decided to change my Senior Research project to studying and comparing and contrasting the communication patterns of teen parents versus adult-parents. I honestly believe that there can be some real positives for the kids of teen-parents when they reach adolescence and young adulthood.

My kids and I have a very relaxed communication system with each other, and while much of the research I've seen states that a relaxed parent-child communication structure is not necessarily good for the kids when it comes to authority, I believe that my kids and I communicate about more of the intimate details of their lives than most parents ever find out in a lifetime of talking to, or rather at, their kids.

I acknowledge that I have a fairly unique situation with my kids, but I do not think that all kids who are raised by teen parents grow up to be deadbeats. One of my kids served a year in Iraq as a medic, and is now a college student, and the other is beginning Cosmetology school. I know that I am not the only teen-parent of adult-children whose kids have decided to seek higher education.

I'm not saying, "run right out there kids and get knocked up," but there are some positives concerning the parent-child relationship simply due to a lack of a generation gap. I know that there are some things that my kids tell me that they wouldn't have willingly shared with parents they didn't feel could understand exactly where they are at in life.

Those moments when my kids let me into their lives are some of the most precious gifts I have ever received.

I can't wait to see where this research takes me.