Photo by bjsmombren

Do you ever look at your teen and think about how differently they are growing up from the way you did?

I consider myself a pretty responsible person, and I thank my mom and dad for that. They were the opposite of helicopter parents, letting me make my own decisions and working out my own solutions.

But I worry in these days of over-protectiveness that I'm not doing all I can to foster the same qualities in my own children.

So as my own kids grow ever closer to their teen years, I've compiled a list of some of the habits I'm going to try my darndest to instill to foster maximum responsibility and independence:

-- They need to find their own job and make their own money.

-- Find their own transportation to and from work: bike, legs. My parents never chauffeured me.

Photo by tami0755

Texting is a huge topic of conversation on CafeMom. Some moms complain about their teens doing it way too much (one kid received 3,000 in a month) and others have gotten walloped with huge phone bills on plans without unlimited texts.

But at least one mom in Tween Titans is looking on the bright side:

"Kids probably do talk more freely by text, but keep in mind you may also want to communicate by text. My daughter has revealed some important info to me by text. At least it breaks the ice and then we talk about it. It's not my ideal way of communicating, but if it works to keep us in contact, that's okay with me."

Photo by Honii

My son is still a little guy, but growing up with a brother, I know full well what to expect from the mother-son relationship as soon as my boy hits the teen years -- lots of hanging out with friends, parties, girls, going to movies, going to the pool, more girls.

Yeah, my mother didn't get to see my teen-aged brother a whole lot, especially over the very social summers. But there was one thing that brought my mother and brother together without fail almost every week -- sports. Watching the Sunday game, whether it was baseball or football season, was their weekly ritual.

I have incredibly comforting memories of my mom and brother, one on the couch and one in the lounger, cheering on the Mets, Giants, or my brother's favorite college team, the San Diego Chargers. This connection is the reason I feel my mom and brother, now a father himself, still get together on Sundays as often as they can.