As a parent, I look at the samples provided and think, "WTF?" At 13, your kid "might finally be able to accept the responsibility of taking the trash out"?
I love my kids, but I know a critical part of raising them is pissing them off on a fairly regular basis (also known as saying "No" :). My 13 year old daughter really likes that.
More importantly, it is better to raise them to understand their real place in the world (which is not "everybody gets a medal for participating"; I really want to punch whoever decided that was a good idea). Life is hard, people will piss on you. If you've been coddled your whole life, that is going to be a painful experience when it happens.
On the other hand, if your parents have 1) given you a strong foundation of love and self-respect and 2) positioned you to know you have to work your way up, you'll usually do OK.
(Note: I'm not saying I'm perfect. There are things I'd do differently and my fourth is getting a different parenting experience than my first, but, overall, with various crap they've all had to deal with, they are continuing to do well. So far, it's success.)
I love my kids, but I know a critical part of raising them is pissing them off on a fairly regular basis (also known as saying "No" :). My 13 year old daughter really likes that.
More importantly, it is better to raise them to understand their real place in the world (which is not "everybody gets a medal for participating"; I really want to punch whoever decided that was a good idea). Life is hard, people will piss on you. If you've been coddled your whole life, that is going to be a painful experience when it happens.
On the other hand, if your parents have 1) given you a strong foundation of love and self-respect and 2) positioned you to know you have to work your way up, you'll usually do OK.
(Note: I'm not saying I'm perfect. There are things I'd do differently and my fourth is getting a different parenting experience than my first, but, overall, with various crap they've all had to deal with, they are continuing to do well. So far, it's success.)