On Focus on the Family this morning they played an old tape where Dr. James Dobson, psychologist, speaks about pre-teen years and how parents can prepare the kids for these years just before they reach them.  Anyway he tells about this intern who has to work in a mental health hospital.  This intern did not have much experience with the mentally ill and thought he could help cure them if he just sat down and reasoned with them explaining why what these delusional people thought did not make sense.  He went up to this one guy who thought he was dead. 

 

He sat down with him and said to him "I understand you think you are dead."  The guy says, "yes, for many years I have been dead".  So the intern says, "well tell me, can dead people bleed?"  The guy says "well... No".  So the intern takes a needle, takes this man's thumb and pricks it and squeezes it and blood comes out."  So the man says......"WOW, dead people DO bleed!".

 

LOL Dr. Dobson was warning how there will come a time when no matter how you try to reason with your teen you will not be able to convince them of what you are trying to convey. eg. why they cannot have a sweater that costs $70. FYI the cure for this he says is warn your kids ahead of time that sometimes you will not be able to compromise with him though there will come a time when he will be treated more as a friend than a son and you WILL let him go but with that he will have to do his part and be responsible. He will be let to make his own decisions but some things will still have to accept because he still is living under your roof with all the benefits and comforts that entails.

 

It is a really good series, was three days long, and now I want the tapes so I can listen to them with Ben.  Apparently thousands of parents have used them with a lot of success.