I Was A 'Problem Child'. Here Are 3 Parenting Rules I Now Swear By

The author

Mid-doom scroll, I saw a meme that stopped me in my tracks:“You weren’t the problem child. You were the child communicating the problem.”

That was me. Shoplifting at 12. Marlboro Lights at 13. What I was doing at 14? Not going on the internet.

My parents tried everything: listening in on my phone calls to sabotage my vodka-in-a-local-park plans, banning me from the Year 7 disco because I threw a tantrum after not being allowed to wear heels, and the occasional out-of-nowhere crack to the legs when I got mouthy.