One of my favorite parts of being married, after having been a single mom for so long, is that my husband helps me recognize when I’m being ridiculous as a parent.

The other day, Isabella asked if she could start reading the Harry Potter series. I said yes, excited that she was eager to read at a more advanced level. But later on I began second guessing my decision. There are some scary parts in those books and I was worried they’ll frighten her.

I expressed that concern to Justin later and his response was: “Well, at some point she has to learn these things on her own.” He pointed out that he watched a couple of scary movies when he was her age and yes, they terrified him, but those experiences helped him learn how to cope with fear. And that was an important lesson for him, and for anyone, to learn in order to survive at life.

This conversation opened my eyes to the fact that I still baby Isabella sometimes. I still view her as a little girl but she’s almost 9 years old… she’s nearing adolescent age. And there are certain experiences that she needs to go through in order to prepare her for adulthood. I can’t keep sheltering her from everything.

This situation is just one of the many reminders of how important it is to have a partner in the parenting process. Many times Justin has helped me to see things from a different perspective, and I’ve done the same for him. If I were still on my own, I probably wouldn’t have let Isabella read the Harry Potter books, I wouldn’t let her do a lot of things that would help prepare her for life, and she would be the one who suffers because of it.