When your kids are little, it can feel like they'll never be old enough to have a curfew! It's all days of family time and wanting to be as close to mom and dad as possible at all times. But sadly, those days don't last forever. Our kids grow up, they get older, and they start to crave freedom and independence. Parenting a teen is walking a fine line between wanting to give them that freedom and independence, and wanting to protect them for as long as possible. It's also about wanting to make sure they make good decisions, while keeping the peace around the house! Most kids have a curfew starting at around 13 years of age. This is around the age they start to test boundaries and spread their wings. But it can be hard to determine what an appropriate curfew is for a teenager! Obviously, a lot of it depends on their maturity level and how well they handle added responsibility. But as a general rule, you can just work backwards.

Think about the time you'd want your 20 or 21 year old to be home. Let's say your college kid is home on break from school - your house, your rules, and you may still want to implement a curfew! If you're comfortable with your 20 year old coming home at 1 a.m., then work backwards from there. When you do it this way, it's reasonable to expect your 14 or 15 year old to be home by 10 p.m. By thinking ahead to how you'll implement curfews as your kids get older, you can easily set boundaries and guidelines for your younger teens. Plus, if your teen knows that their curfew will get extended as they get older (and demonstrate an ability to abide by the rules), it'll make it easier for them to accept an earlier curfew in the beginning.

It's also important to remember that curfews can be fluid. You may extend it for a special occasion, or make it earlier in certain circumstances. As long as your teen is behaving safely and responsibly, you have some leeway when it comes to curfews. The bottom line is, curfews are going to be different for every kid and every situation. But having a solid starting point can make it easier to set a curfew that everyone is happy with, more or less.

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