Parenting tips from Lehman

[Sunlight]

These quotes are from James Lehman:

Ask yourself: is this what we worked for all our lives? We dealt with discomfort. We dealt with stress. We dealt with unhappiness... Is this what we worked for now? That our adult son is going to live with us, steal from us, abuse us and make our lives miserable? ..
Parents are supposed to have a certain amount of power in our society just by virtue of being a parent. Sadly, in many cases, that is not the story. If you're living with an abusive adult child who is committing crimes against you and your home, he obviously does not respect your power as a parent.

Let me be straight with you and offer you some empowerment. You've raised this kid. You've invested everything in him and now you have to tiptoe around the house? That is unacceptable.

I have used this resource and recommended it elsewhere. Parents need to regain the power and not fear expecting responsible adult behavior from their kids.
This website has lots of articles on the left side to choose from, but I felt particularly drawn to the article here:
http://www.empoweringparents.com/In...r-Children-Living-at-Home-by-James-Lehman.php

It is a long article but also deals with starting early to teach your child to be independent and to be able to one day move out of the home, making children accountable for their actions, how to deal with them when they are destructive with your property and verbally abusive to you. My sons no longer live at home but I wish I had read these articles a long time ago!

This part of the site deals with running away, substance abuse,and out of control behaviors:
http://www.empoweringparents.com/category-Substance-Abuse-And-Risky-Behavior.php