Kids Day Out

"Tweens love to enjoy their time by themselves with little or no intervention from their parents." --- TargetWoman on Tween Parenting

And that's just what happened three weekends ago when my daughter joined her cousins on their mall "hang-out". That's how she and my fifteen year old niece puts it, a "hang-out". They don't want me tagging along. I even read my niece's post in my daughter's social networking account asking why do I have to be there. I had to laugh at that. They think they're adults that they can go on their own. Then she asked me what I will do. I said I will just watch a movie while they go around the mall.

They cannot bear the fact that there will be a mother tailgating them. Here's the deal. I allowed my daughter to join them since three older cousins joined too - ages seventeen to twenty. I texted and called several times just to check where they were and how they were doing.

This is a milestone in my daughter's tween years. This is the first time she went out with cousins without me. She and her cousin Jill were the organizers of this "hang-out". I love their enthusiasm. They were calling each other and sending emails about their "itinerary". I don't want to spoil the fun. I just needed to be sure my daughter will be taken cared of. The three older cousins are really responsible kids.

I did my own thing - bought some things, had my pasta fix, and read a good book at Power Books - Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen. I intend to buy this book after my I finish my current read, The Pillars of the Earth.

So what do kids do without the presence of any parent?

They hug bears. They make silly faces. They take pictures even inside the wash room.


They pose endlessly play endlessly. The upper right picture, my daughter with her puppy dawg eyes, is my favorite. :)


They enjoyed the last few weeks before school started. School is on its third week for most of them. The fun they had in this get-together will last them a few months before they plan another "hang-out".

***More snapshots at WS.