PERMISSION
SLIP There’s a thin line between
being a lenient parent and a
responsible one. Here’s how
to walk it. b y G ing er Rue
When Mike LinderMan’s 17-year-old son came
home past curfew one night—with a speeding
ticket—Linderman and his wife didn’t have to
say a word: “He showed us the citation and
handed over his license, saying, ‘I broke the law,
and I came in late. I know I won’t be driving for
the next two months. I’m going to bed now.’”
Linderman, author of The Teen Whisperer
(Harper Collins) and a licensed counselor in
Trout Creek, Montana, who works with troubled teens, made sure long ago that his own
kids understood the rules. “When you’re clear
about expectations from the get-go, you can
