parenting in this new age

my daughter shared something very personal with me last week and when she first approached me to talk to me, she asked if i would be mad and she asked if i would tell dad. 

for one, the rules of that are i can't tell you if i'll be mad or not but i will try my best to keep my emotions under control. the other part to that, number two, is if it's somehow going to be hurtful to any person who might be involved, then yes, i will be sharing it with at least one other adult. but i can tell her at that moment that i will check my emotions and i will also let her decide when would be the best time to tell her father, if she feels like he needs to know, unless i feel like i need to tell him first. 

I did ask her if it had involved touching anyone, anyone touching her, anything inappropriate or illegal. i want to make sure we are both prepared for the conversation and what it might entail, especially if there could be some type of threat to anyone's emotional or physical well-being.

she did end up opening up to me and telling me something that she tried, because she's at the age where kids try things. they want to do things, they are surrounded by peer pressure, they are teenagers in a VERY different world than when i was a teenager, BUT reminding myself that I am not my parents, i am myself, and i have learned a heck of a lot more than they ever had about being vulnerable and allowing us as children to explore our worlds and to remember that as parents, we will always love them, no matter what they decide to try or change or how they interact with other people, and the world around them. 

she told me at the end that she wanted to "try everything". I told her to make a list of what that means, things she wants to try, and put limits/boundaries on them. because "trying everything" can get you in a world of hurt, especially if you leave that open to interpretation, instead of knowing where you're values and boundaries are.