26.

  1. She is too hard on me.
  2. She asks too many questions.
  3. She is always considerate of my feelings.
  4. She is the meanest mother in the neighborhood.

(Click to show or hide the key.)

27.

  1. A university instructor.
  2. A teaching assistant.
  3. A Ph.D. student.
  4. A psychiatrist.

(Click to show or hide the key.)

28.

  1. They usually say no.
  2. They usually say yes.
  3. They usually wait and see.
  4. They usually refuse to say anything.

(Click to show or hide the key.)

29.

  1. They are overconfident.
  2. Their brains grow too fast.
  3. They are psychologically dependent.
  4. Their brains are still immature in some areas.

(Click to show or hide the key.)

30.

  1. Be easy on your teen.
  2. Try to be mean to your teen.
  3. Say no to your teen when necessary.
  4. Don't care about your teen's feelings.

(Click to show or hide the key.)

I am the meanest mother in the neighborhood. I'm too strict. I ask too many questions. No one else's parents are as difficult as I am. Don't I know that all the cool kids are out until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and can go wherever they want? This is the point of view of my 16-year-old daughter. Although she is frequently annoyed when I try to gather what I consider basic information -- about where she's going, who's driving, and what the plan is for getting home -- I know she is also relieved that someone is watching out for her.

Discipline -- or, to use today's more popular phrase, setting limits -- takes on a whole new meaning when your child hits adolescence. "When kids are young and do something unsafe, parents have no trouble saying no," says Daniel Kindlon, Ph.D., assistant professor of child psychology at the Harvard School of Public Health, who has two daughters, 15 and 12. "You don't care that your two-year-old cries if you don't let him put the fork in the toaster. But saying yes to your teen can almost become a reflex, because you so desperately want to avoid conflict." New research confirms what parents have known all along: adolescents simply lack the ability to make smart decisions consistently. For example, peer relationships -- which are so important to teenagers -- can easily overwhelm the need to be safe. Scientists have discovered that this has to do with the way the human brain grows.

During the teen years, the brain develops rapidly, but some areas mature much earlier than others.

But you have to hold the line. Your teen is secretly counting on you to do so. And too much is at stake if you don't.