I recently heard Luke Lamprecht (Child Protection and Development Specialist) speak and this simple statement captures something essential: PG-13 does not mean Parent Gone at 13.

When children are young, parenting is often like being the captain of a ship- you steer, you decide the course, you make most of the decisions. But during adolescence, young people begin captaining their own small vessel. The waters are choppy, the storms come quickly, and they don’t yet have the experience to navigate them confidently. At this stage, you are no longer steering the ship. Your role is to become the anchor.

1. Stability, not control

An anchor doesn’t stop the storm. The boat will still rock, pitch and roll under the pressure of identity crises and social stress. Your job isn’t to hold the boat perfectly still. Your job as the anchor is to dig deep into the seabed and provide the stability that prevents your child from drifting out to sea or crashing into the rocks.

• The logic of the ‘scope’

In sailing terms, scope is the amount of slack in the chain attached to the anchor. If the chain is too tight, the anchor can’t grip properly or is at risk of snapping completely. So, like the adult who hovers too closely, over-controls or rescues too quickly, the tension becomes unbearable and the teen pulls against it to find air and break free. But with the right amount of slack, the boat can swing freely within a safe radius. The teen gets to explore and make choices, while remaining tethered to safety.

• The 360° swing

An anchored boat swings with the tide. One moment it faces north; the next, it is facing a completely different direction. This is adolescence. One day they crave closeness; the next, they push you away. As the anchor, you cannot panic when the wind shifts. You stay planted in your values, knowing that swaying is a sign of a healthy system, not a sign of failure.

• Anchoring vs. rescuing

Rescuing comes from our own anxiety. When we fix every mistake, we inadvertently communicate: “I don’t believe you can handle this.” Anchoring means you are providing boundaries, emotional regulation, consistency and care.

The bottom line

Calm adults regulate dysregulated teens. Presence matters more than control, and modeling matters more than lecturing. By staying grounded, you send the ultimate message of confidence:

“This is hard, but I trust your capacity to grow through it. I won’t do it for you, but I will never leave you to do it alone.”

Content by www.bellavista.org.za

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