Question
My husband and I have read Parent Power and Teen Proofing, and are struggling with our daughters, ages 11 & 13. The 11 year old is moody and varies between joking around (sometimes to the point that she takes it too far and becomes disrespectful) and walking around sullen and pouty, answering questions with a "you should know that" type of response. The 13 year old gets very caught up in details, to the point of an obsessiveness-She recently switched out a pair of shoelaces because of a spot the size of a pinhead, has changed out the tab dividers on her school binder several times and it's only the 3rd day of school, and it takes her an hour to clean her hamster cage. Dinners out with them are miserable. Just went out last night, and the 11 year old was pouty the whole time with horrible table manners and the 13 year old wanted me to taste her broccoli because it tasted funny and wouldn't let it drop. Then refused to eat her dinner because she thought she was going to be sick from the strange tasting broccoli. We've taken away friends and electronic devices at this point. Are we micromanaging? All I know is that we're miserable...
