When your three-month old baby is crying, you try to figure out why. Is she wet? Does she have an ear ache? Is she tired? Have a temperature? You try to make her as comfy as possible, and pray she’ll stop.
When your three-year-old toddler is crying or seems sad, you ask her what’s wrong? She may or may not tell you. If she doesn’t seem sick, you ask a zillion questions and try to figure out what else could be wrong so you can make her feel better.
When your thirteen-year-old is sad or unhappy, it’s probably because she’s thirteen. You still try to talk to her and find out what’s wrong so you can try to “fix” it.
When your thirty-year-old daughter is unhappy, it may be because she had a bad day at work, a fight with her husband or is worried about her three-year-old. Or the reason may be a lot more complicated. If you know she has deep-rooted problems, you want to help, just like you did when she was three months, three years or thirteen. You probably even know how to guide her.
But you probably can’t help like you used to because she won’t let you. She needs to figure it all out herself. It’s just the cycle of life.