This week my 12 year old has graduated from using children's soap with those yummy fruity flavors to men's soap. My 12 year old, once obsessed with Minecraft, fighting imaginary bad guys, is growing into a full-blown teenager and soon to be adult. Life happens when you're caught up in the day to day chaos. Next year will bring 8th grade, the first year of being an official teenager and I feel like we are approaching uncharted waters.  Am I giving him all the tools to be a kind, considerate and productive human being? Is he understanding my lectures no matter how long winded they can be? As a parent I feel like at times we also have to be psychologists, detectives and translators. We have to understand their needs, espcially their need to be understood and listened to. We have to somehow commun...

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