My Son's Best-Mom

In my circle of parents the discussion keeps arising about being our children's parents and also their friends. The group is split about in half with the issue of either being their friend or their parent. One of my friends makes the point that a parent's job is to parent not be their friends, while my take on this is that yes we need to be parents but we also need to be their friends. I believe that there is a time and place to be either one of these, and that a balance of the two is whats needed. Finding this balance is important to me because I'd like for my son to be able to learn right from wrong from me but at the same time know that he can come to me and talk to me about anything that might be wrong with him. I want to know that my son is comfortable talking to me about anything at anytime. Thats a comfort that kids get from their friends, and I want my son to be comfortable with me the same way. Communication is key to having a strong relationship with your child. Being a single mom has made sure that my son and I spend lots of time together and that we do most things just the two of us. This has helped to keep us close and to depend on each other for support and love.
I have friends who are so serious about parenting that they forget to just enjoy having their kids. They are amazing parents that provide well for their kids, and they go to sporting and school events, and do other things that most parents do with their children, but what they don't do is just talk to their children. I talk to my son about everything from him starting puberty and the things boys go through when they start puberty, to the things girls go through in puberty. Now, this is a very uncomfortable topic to be discussing with children, but I am glad that my son is comfortable coming to me with questions about it. I feel some type of special way when he asks about the things that happens to boys and men physically in the morning and is that normal and what can be done, but, I found books on the subject so that I could better explain it to him and now the topic is not so uncomfortable for him or myself, and I am glad to be over that hump in the road.