| GerberDaisy, great suggestions. I printed them off to share with my son. I'm sure he will like the idea of the car, even though it's there for a practical reason.
The delicate balance I see for parents and students is how aggressive parents need to be. I do understand that this is a time for students to take responsibility for things, but sometimes a parent can make much more "noise" and get something done. In teen years what I see is a deep desire to individuate and to try to problem solve on one's own. Which is good. But as a parent I've tried to identify problems where one problems solves on one's own (e.g., dealing with classroom problems) and things where it helps to pull in the heavy hitters (e.g., illegal discrimination, safety issues and so on).
Any chronic illness is inherently isolating and it is always good to have more people in your court fighting the good battle when the stakes are so high. It is important, as parents, to show how in our own lives we problem solve some things ourselves, but at times, have to call in the legal, financial or emotional support team.
For anyone with health challenges, I think the message should be: Go, be independent, choose your major, find your friends, live and learn, but when it comes to physical safety, none of us should feel that the responsibility for day-to-day well-being rests solely just on our shoulders. |