EXPLORING TRANSITION
16 NOV 5.30 AM AEDT (7.30 PM PARIS)
Daughter
I'm OK; it's a really awful atmosphere
here. Everyone is deeply affected,
everyone is very scared. There have
been lots of false alarms around the
city tonight. We've had a bunch of
people staying at our place since
the attacks.
Daughter: In Paris, many people live alone.
As I live close to my workplace, I offered
my apartment as a place to stay for any of
my stranded co-workers. Another friend
who lived alone in the street where one of
the shootings took place moved in with us.
Over the weekend, people came to us from
work, arrived to have dinner or just watch TV.
No one wanted to be alone, so we opened
our doors to anyone needing company or
support. People all over the city did the same,
and one of my enduring memories of the
attacks will be the sense of fellowship and
community that emerged from such horror.
Mother: That weekend, the focus of my world
became a flickering TV screen as I trawled
news channels for updates. Communication
by sms in a situation like this is brutal. Text
messages can’t relay unexpressed emotion
the way that the tone of voice can do via the
phone or a look in the eyes can do via Skype.
I needed to know she was safe every hour,
but would that be suffocating her? I wanted to
tell her that we were afraid for her safety, but
would that inflame her own fear? I wanted her
to be in constant contact, but she had friends
she needed to locate. I wanted to reassure
her, but what advice could I give in a such a
volatile situation? Above all, I wanted her to
be home where I could keep her safe.
As parents, we understand the need to
let go as our teens grow up – in theory. In
practice, whether your children are two, ten
or twenty years old, when danger threatens,
the visceral urge to shield them is as fierce
as ever. All parents face the dilemma of how
to let go when their instinct is driving them to
protect. The answer is we have no choice.
Our teens must take risks in order to grow.
All we can do is trust that the values and
principles that we have instilled in them will
continue to guide them.
My daughter returns to Paris tomorrow –
on a one-way ticket. It will be agonising to
say goodbye, but part of me goes with her
and will always be with her. That’s just the
way it is for parents – it’s a job for life, and
no matter how much we loosen the strings,
the bond is never broken.
YOUR TEEN’S LEGAL
RIGHTS
Many laws applicable to your children change before
they hit the ripe old age of 18.
By Katherine Hawes
I
f you have teenagers, it is important to
know what their legal rights are as they
move into adulthood.
Your teenagers right to…
1. Leave school
Australian State