Mom Squad: Teen independence | wkyc.com

CLEVELAND — Raising kids is a tough job. No one argues that. But we all know it’s rewarding at the same time. How many times have you heard, “Enjoy when they are little, it goes by so fast?”

That transition of raising babies to teens can be very emotional. Maureen Kyle talks with Rachel Marie Martin, author of “Mom Enough: Inspiring Letters for the Wonderfully Exhausting but Totally Normal Days of Motherhood,” who shares advice from her book.

Martin’s book is comprised of journal entries she wrote to herself as sort of therapy to document her feelings as her kids grew older.

One of the biggest lessons she had to learn was how to “let go.”

“We want them to fly, that’s the goal of parenting, like spread your wings, fly do your thing. But when there’s that pulling away, there’s this tension,” says Martin.

“I always say that their first are our lasts. And so when we have those last moments, like holding a hand or tucking them in or all of that, for them, it’s this first moment of independence. And so it’s this kind of balancing for us of knowing in our heart that this is what they’re supposed to do, and for me as a mom, it’s really given me the definition of what bittersweet means. It’s letting go, but also lamenting, ‘Wow, look at how far we’ve come,'” Martin said.

In this episode, Martin shares more advice on how to develop a deeper relationship with your teen and also how to make sure you are fulfilling your own life, not just focusing on theirs.

You can catch the entire episode on WKYC+, our WKYC YouTube channel or in the media player below.