'My Teen Daughter's Pushing Me To The Edge. I Don't Know How To Parent Her'

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68e392cb1400005ef35c6f81.jpg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="" data-caption="" data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="Lisa5201 via Getty Images" /></div><div class="content-list-component text"><p><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/parenting">Parenting</a> a <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/teens">teen</a> is so rewarding, but let’s not sugarcoat it: it can also be hard work. You don’t want to leave them to their own devices, but equally we know it’s important to give them more space and independence as they grow older. </p><p>Sometimes, striking this balance can feel like an impossible task – especially when your child is desperate to push every boundary under the sun. </p><p>One concerned mum has opened up about how her 13-year-old daughter is “pushing” her “to the edge” with her behaviour – and she’s at a loss as to how to respond.</p><p>This year, her daughter has been caught sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night to hang out with older kids, and stealing “adult drinks” from the fridge. Punishments have included taking her phone away and grounding her. </p><p>Fast forward to now and the parent discovered her daughter has also been caught with friends who were shoplifting. “I don’t know right now if she was just with them or did it,” she <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Parenting/comments/1nvnxvl/i_dont_have_any_more_ideas_for_how_to_parent_my/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wrote on Reddit.</a></p><p>The worried mum said she’s done “everything” she can think of to try and teach her child that this is wrong: “I won’t scream. I have cried with her with how scary sneaking out is. She’s gorgeous for 13, she doesn’t look her age. I