So you're saying I should just let my 12 year old do as he pleases? Just remove all of the rules? No rules, no consequences. Sounds like a great idea. Unfort

So you're saying I should just let my 12 year old do as he pleases? Just remove all of the rules? No rules, no consequences. Sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately real life doesn't work that way. I agree, the best way to make sure a 12 year old boy does something, is to tell him not to do it. Hell, that's about the best way to get me to do something. But that doesn't mean that there shouldn't be a rule with consequences. That's how our society works and he has to learn how to function in it. I always give him explanations for each rule we have. He's free to ask any questions and I will do my best to get him to understand. He's free to disagree but he is not free to break rules we have set. Many of the rules he has were his idea as a result of a conversation with him asking him what he thinks we should do about a situation.