Parenting First
It’s not every day that your 17yo gets caught making out with your fairly-new-but-it’s-looking-good friend’s 13yo son, who also happens to be her brother’s best friend, on your first ever voluntary camping trip that you went on to try to relax your mind after a death in the family. Because that makes sense, right?
Of course, we also thought it would be adorable if all the “kids” shared a tipi while we adults took the 2br cabin because it never occurred to us that if we put 7 children together (6 of whom are teenagers), that any of them would hook up or start “dating!” It’s like I suddenly got selective amnesia for my entire teenage experience. Rookie mistake.
The children have been SO excited to sleep in the tipi together and now we have to figure out if it is ok for them to still sleep in the tipi together, with their combined total of 5 other siblings as well. The answer is not as clear cut as you think.
If we pull either of them from the tent then they will feel punished. And for what? Being 13 & 17? The age gap is only 6 months more than that between my husband and me. So we signed the younger siblings to stay with them at all times. The younger ones loved it and the older ones were pissed. And it worked so the adults were happy too.