{"id":4296,"date":"2025-01-15T08:47:13","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T14:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theagingofaquarius.com\/dw_blog\/?p=4296"},"modified":"2025-01-15T08:48:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T14:48:03","slug":"the-five-stages-of-parenting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theagingofaquarius.com\/dw_blog\/the-five-stages-of-parenting\/","title":{"rendered":"The five stages of parenting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/em>\u201cHave you heard from the kids today?\u201d
\n\u201cYes. They\u2019re still safe. Fire crews are holding the line north of the 210.\u201d
\n\u201cThank God.\u201d<\/p>\n

CarolAnn and I still refer to our children as \u201cthe kids,\u201d though they range in age from 44 to 48.<\/p>\n

I recently mentioned our oldest son, saying he was \u201cpushing 50.\u201d It gave me a jolt as I suddenly remembered a phone call I got from my father on my 50th birthday. We had a lovely conversation. He said, \u201cWhen your kid turns 50, you really feel old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dad died from his only heart attack just a few months later. I was still his kid.<\/p>\n

A friend recently mentioned that I often write about aging. Well, we write what we know and those things that demand our attention, yes? I\u2019m very lucky. I\u2019m in my 70s, in good health, and exceptionally happy now that I\u2019m retired and have time to enjoy my life in detailed moments, past and present.<\/p>\n

There are five parenting stages based on your kids’ ages: infancy, childhood, teens, transition to adulthood, and the final stage, their fully independent lives. Each stage is a unique emotional time for Mom and Dad. For the kids, it\u2019s just growing up.<\/p>\n

My mother died five years ago when she was 87. I was 68. To the end, she still called me \u201cHoney\u201d.<\/p>\n

As a parent, you try to remember the stages of your own life: your earliest years in grade school, learning to socialize, crying because you were scared or just didn\u2019t understand. Hugs, soothing words, and kissing boo-boos often help.<\/p>\n

The teen years are an explosion of insight and confusion thrown into a hormonal blender. Parents have to remember that and deal with it on those terms.<\/p>\n

The transition stage is the hardest on parents. It\u2019s when your kid moves out of your home with a hug, a smile, and a wave and walks away into their own world without you. As you wake up each morning without looking in on them, fixing their breakfast, or issuing loving reminders to start their day, you gradually understand that your little boy or girl no longer exists and never will again.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s hard. And while you continue to love them and celebrate their lives, you\u2019ll never fully recover from letting go.<\/p>\n

Until she died, my mom always told me she loved me. Dad was a Wyoming cowboy born nearly a hundred years ago. He said it, too, just not as often.<\/p>\n

Now that I have a kid pushing 50, I tell him and his brother every chance I get. I\u2019m telling them, and their own sons, right here and now:<\/p>\n

I love you kids with all of my life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHave you heard from the kids today?\u201d \u201cYes. They\u2019re still safe. Fire crews are holding the line north of the 210.\u201d \u201cThank God.\u201d CarolAnn and I still refer to our children as \u201cthe kids,\u201d though they range in age from 44 to 48. I recently mentioned our oldest son, saying he was \u201cpushing 50.\u201d It … Continue reading “The five stages of parenting”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,398,53],"tags":[282,301,374],"class_list":["post-4296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aging","category-family","category-parenting","tag-family","tag-kids","tag-parenting"],"yoast_head":"\nThe five stages of parenting : The Aging of Aquarius<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While you continue to love them and celebrate their lives, you\u2019ll never fully recover from letting go.\" \/>\n<meta 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