And, I’m not talking about the 4th of July! As kids reach middle school and high school, they want increasing amounts of independence: to go out with friends alone, go on sleepovers, and eventually have their own cars. This can be scary for a parent who already has so many concerns about kids at this age, such as drug and cough medicine abuse. As the mom of a pre-teen daughter, negative and even dangerous influences outside my home are some of my more serious concerns. I would love it if you would share your thoughts with me and the other Five Moms about how you balance letting your children have independence while protecting them from negative experiences such as drugs and cough medicine abuse. We can all learn from each other, so I hope you’ll take a moment to share with us how you are talking to your children about cough medicine abuse and monitoring their web site usage.