In the Big Struggle, parents feel they are doing their duty, that they are doing all they can to straighten their child out, that if they didn’t join in the Big Struggle the child would simply goof off interminably. And the child feels he is fighting for his independence, that he is resisting becoming an automaton. Or worse, the child doesn’t really know what is going on. He is simply reacting. Punch, counterpunch, you attack, I counterattack. The reason for the war is long forgotten as the battles go on and on, taking on a life of their own. After a while neither side quite remembers what is
...more
