I know more than my son wants me to, and less than he thinks I do.
Kids have this thing where they think other people know more about what is going on in their lives (and thoughts) than they actually do. It makes sense beyond magical thinking, because as parents we catch them out on so many different lies/fibs/stories/attempts to hide things. We know they’ve had a hard day, when they’re putting on a brave face. We HEAR them sneaking a cookie. We reconfirm a thousand thousand times the Omnicience they ascribe to us, in part because “If you _______? I will KNOW.” is a darn useful parenting tool. Don’t even try to sneak that one by me, mister. :shifty:
A big part of growing up is both the understanding that parents DON’T know everything, and the deliberate choices we/they make in what to take TO our parents... what parts of our lives to share with them, and what not to.
Teenagers think they’ve gotten to this stage (ahhhh, teenagers :sneaky: ) as they’re deliberately hiding things, forming contrary opinions, etc... but really? It’s where your daughter is at, right now, that exemplifies it.
She thought you knew. (Because you “know everything” right?)
You didn’t know.
It will probably take a few years for her to wrap her head around that one.
And it will circle around again when she has kids, and is suddenly on the OTHER side of the line (and knowing when her kids have had a bad day and are putting on a brave face, or are sneaking cookies, etc.)
-OR- If she already has kids? (Because a lot of the time people really do keep their parents on pedestals until they have kids of their own, and their parents become human) It probably JUST hit her, that you’re not God / and weren’t all knowing, all powerful.
Again... that one takes a few years for most people to wrap their heads around. Even if they already did it once... the beliefs we form in childhood? Tend to stick.
