I Am Off the Hook

Thank you, Oxford study that concluded that "poor parenting is not the reason" for the increase in problem behavior among teenagers.

So if Sasha gets busted for shoplifting or Jackson is caught tagging graffiti on the side of a deli, I can punish them with impunity, knowing that none of their problems are my fault. On the other hand...the results of the study throw to the winds of fate the hope that my parenting skills (or "skilz," as I like to tell my kids) are anything I can take credit for if they happen to turn out fine.

Then again, I'll accept having a kid who's a shoplifter or chronic graffito, as long as they don't become uber geeks or emo douchebags. And if they present an interest in becoming furries, I'll try to interest them in something not as low on the social scale, like robbing liquor stores.

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