Good mother.....bad mother.....you decide

So today, being a good mother, I took my 13 year old to get a haircut. She had asked for one yesterday and I was quick to deliver. Good mother.


Let me tell you a bit about my 13 year old. Or at least our newest struggle. She is the oldest child of parents that didn't really have the Internet in their lives until college. So we were never taught about inappropriate material until we were older. We are learning along with her the problems that can occur when a kid decides to look up something simple on the Internet and comes across something completely inappropriate. The newest rule in the house (about 5 months old) is no Internet at friends houses. The rule was adapted after we learned our 11 year old took some quizzes on facebook that I didn't think were appropriate. So that is our rule. Not too bad. Right? So that is me being a good mother.


Last weekend, the 13 year old was at a sleepover and got online while most of the other girls were sleeping. I found out and disciplined her. I explained that the rule was no Internet at friends houses. Again, I was being a good protective mother right?


Bad mother came out today when I realized how I missed the boat on this one big time! While driving to the hair appointment she asked me if I had ever been to a website (she gave me the address) about fundamentalist LDS. She said her and a friend (a member) went to this website at the library to learn more about it. I figured out then and there that she heard me when I said don't go online at friends houses, but she had no idea why I said not to do it! I was shocked she went online at the school library to learn about it when she should have asked us about it. She doesn't understand some of the dangers of going onto websites that could question her faith or she might come across images that once in her mind she could never erase. We had a nice chat about the exact dangers. It goes back to the infamous story quoted at our recent ward conference about the child told not to go to the corner but does go to the corner and after she is talked to by her mother, the child asks, "What's a corner?" We are just entering the teenage years, I just pray at the end I will be looked back on as the good mother.

I did what any good mother would do and what my sister-in-law swears cures all ills, I bought her a drink at sonic. And her hair looks great!