Fatal PA crash: When a parent's decision shatters lives - The Journal News | LoHud.com
There's a thin line between being an easygoing parent and an irresponsible one. Michael Ware was on the wrong side of that line, say the parents of three boys who died in a car driven by his unlicensed teenage daughter last August. "Your irresponsible parenting caused the deaths of three amazing boys," Lisa Lesher told Ware at his sentencing Thursday in Pennsylvania. Those limits can differ from family to family, and even from husband to wife. In a family of divorce, such as the Wares', different parenting styles can add another layer of tension. Ware allowed his daughter, a 15-year-old from Pleasantville, to take five friends out to breakfast in his Chevrolet Suburban. "Your failure to be a father and say 'No' caused these tragic deaths," he said. It's extremely difficult to raise adolescents in our society, said Mark Sirkin, a clinical psychologist who teaches at Mercy College. The goal is to have children leave home successfully, but parents and children navigate the road to independence differently. "As a society, we want to blame and point the finger and be done with these difficult problems, but parents of adolescents are faced with these kinds of questions every single day," Sirkin said. Sirkin said he and his wife have different styles — he tends to be more lenient, she less so. Their. Source: www.lohud.com
