Dear parents,

An open letter to parents: The key to parenting is moderation and mutualism.

Parenting is a tough job. Before the advent of civilized society, all parents had to do was have the baby, take care of the baby for a few years and bid them farewell. Now, having the baby is probably the easiest part (which is saying something), and afterwards parents must feed, clothe, house, educate, instill values, clean, encourage, support, befriend, forgive, oversee, and love the child for nearly their entire life. It's a daunting task- and many people don't succeed in doing it.

The first element of parenting is one of the easiest (for most people, at least): love your child. This bond is a biological instinct, so for everyone it's pretty easy to love your offspring (unless you're a guest on the Maury show and don't even know if the child is yours). Once you love your child, other things come easily: feeding, clothing, housing, and supporting your children. The tricky part comes when parents want to act in the interest of their child, out of love, but then inadvertently end up harming them.

That's the second element, I feel: moderation and mutualism. It's easier said than done- parent in moderation. Don't constantly order your child around, but don't let your child manipulate you. Give them freedom, but oversee their safety and well-being. Don't act as a "helicopter parent," nor as a "tiger mom." Most importantly, make sure that the relationship with your child is working. It needs to be mutual- any sort of friction that develops can destroy the lifelong bond between your child and you.

I like to use my parents as an example. I'm really fortunate to have such caring, yet understanding, parents. When I hear stories about other students, I realize that the key to my good relationship with my parents is moderation and mutualism. We communicate effectively, have nothing to hide, and nothing is unreasonable. Nothing my parents do is unreasonable or extreme, and I, in return, don't do anything to give them reason to act otherwise.

When the liquor companies say "please drink responsibly" at the end of every commercial, they really mean "please drink in moderation." When people say "please parent responsibly," we should instead think: "please parent in moderation."