Between Parent and Teenager, By Dr. Haim G. Ginott

http://www.betweenparentandchild.com/index.php?s=content&p=Between_Parent_and_Teenager

"A day comes in any parent’s life when there is a sudden realization: “My child is a child no longer.” This is a unique moment of elation and fear. There is joy in seeing our seed – a sapling. There is also apprehension: No longer can we protect our teen from all winds. No longer can we stand between him and the world, or shield her from life’s dangers. From now on our almost-adult must face unavoidable challenges unaccompanied by us.


There is also conflict. As parents, our need is to be needed; as teenagers their need is not to need us. This conflict is real; we experience it daily as we help those we love become independent of us.
This can be our finest hour. To let go when we want to hold on requires utmost generosity and love. Only parents are capable of such painful greatness. "