After a little row with our teenage son, just before he walked out of the house, he smiled at me. It was obvious he had forgiven himself already, when he turned to say good bye. But all I could muster was: ” I forgive your hormones.”, which left him laughing.
This immediately reminded me of the book The Wonder of Girls : Understanding the Hidden Nature of Our Daughters (Amazon.com), which I had read in anticipation of our daughter turning into a teenager.
This book helped me a lot in knowing what to anticipate, when to take your parental position serious or when to bite your tongue.
It might be wise for me to read Michael Gurian’s book The Wonder of Boys (Amazon.com) before our son moves out next summer.
Your post reminds me of the bible for Theachers: Emile of Rousseau. His method seems to be very passive and to be impossible to apply to a pratics in a school. It is true. However I do not forget “Zurück zu Natur”. This motto flows through Kant, Goethe and us. My students have proved it.
You spelled “puberty” wrong in the tags! 😉