Helluva an essay, Linda. I agree with all of it, have done my best to practice those things with my daughter and one added rule--show her strong women. Intelligent women. Courageous women. And she's broken our parental mold because that's who she is. Not what we expected, not taking an easy route. Almost 15 and already has layers of strengths, likes, dislikes and stubborn as a goat.