Just recently, I was meeting with my son’s teachers for mid-term conferences. During the meeting, I mentioned to the science teacher that he had been absorbed recently in creating a very complicated and intricate tank to house coral reef. This new hobby of his is something that he came up with on his own. He has researched it and spent hours learning how to construct the tank, test the water, and integrate the live rock and other creatures into their new home. I mentioned this to his teacher as a way of letting him know how much he enjoyed science and had a passion for the subject.
When we got home from the meeting I mentioned this discussion to my 13-year-old son. He looked at me in disbelief and said he couldn’t believe I had told anyone about this newfound passion. I asked him why he was so upset and he said that his teacher would say something to his friends and they would think it was stupid and make fun of him. I told him that what he was doing was very cool and it was something that most kids wouldn’t have a clue about how to even start, but that I was sorry that I had divulged something that he wanted to keep private.
This situation has made me think twice about information I share about my now teenage son. I realize that when he was younger, he didn’t really care as much about what others thought about him and what he was into. Now that he is maturing and becoming more independent I need to respect his privacy. I told him that from this point forward I would be more careful about what I told others and that I was sorry for overstepping my boundaries. This has been a good lesson for me as I continue to navigate the teen years with my children.
