Age Limit

Well, I've checked every page of the parenting manual and I can't seem to find the section where they give you the exact ages you're supposed to let your kids do things.  It's easy when they're really young.  Those milestones are mostly a function of physical growth. They sit up when they're strong enough.  They sleep through the night when they aren't hungry or wet.  Potty training starts once they understand the signals their bodies are sending.  However, when they get older, the struggle shifts to balancing their maturity with your anxieties as a parent.  I would say at this point, my kids' are maturing faster than I'm getting over my anxieties.  They want to watch shows I'm not ready for them to see. They want to play video games I'm not ready for them to play.  They want to listen to songs I'm not ready for them to hear.  I knew they wouldn't like Elmo and playing with Barbies forever, but do we have to jump straight to killing everything on the screen and asking for an IPhone every week??  I'm waiting on the day Everett asks if he can ride his bike to the store or Amelia wants to know if she can go on a date.  The answer, of course, to Everett is "over my dead body" and to Amelia is "over the boys dead body".  Hey, I'm trying, but that's my baby girl.