"All rise"

[mishka422]

FIB,

That is so beautiful that your son has an open, loving R with you. It's something to treasure.

Now teenagerhood......that's another subject! I have a 15 year old. Granted, he's special needs but he is intelligent in the extreme and has been expanding his social skills at a rapid pace since entering high school. The best advice I can give you is to stay completely involved in your kid's lives. Make your home the place that all of their friends want to come to hang out. Make it warm, inviting, strict but not stifling, and fun. That way you stay connected to their friends and know what is going on the majority of the time.

I never wondered why my parents always volunteered to drive the car pool with my friends. Now I know it's because we talked openly and freely in front of them while in the same car as if they weren't even there. It was the closest to being a fly on the wall as they could get and they LOVED it. In high school when so many people I knew were avoiding their parents and getting into trouble, my friends and I were actually wanting to hang out with our parents. We knew where the money was...don't get me wrong we had our ulterior motives, but we always had fun with them because they made it so.

Do that for your kids. Show them how adults should act to counteract the childish, cold behavior of your xw.

You will be a great success! I just know it!