I agree that with later adolescents you've got to loosen up the rope and let them do their thing and take risks. My husband and I sometimes disagreed on this. If they've proven they're responsible by not getting in trouble and keeping their grades up, then that, to me, means a good deal of freedom is in order. I mean this for older kids who're past driving age.

My husband is the more stern parent who tended to want to issue pre-emptive restrictions to prevent the risk of mistakes from ever occuring in the first place. That was what, I know, bred resentment on occasion in our boy, who certainly made his share of mistakes but seemed to be able to learn from them and then be allowed to proceed safely. I always believed in a longer leash, whereas Dave was always wanting to keep it reeled in in the first place. Fortunately, we're mostly through those leash-limit times now.