In Signposts BRUCE HARTUNG (see biographical note preceding The Big Snow) uses the occasion of a junior high school commencement address to lift up the definite changes that are occurring in both parental and child responsibilities as the family grows together through this particular maturational phase of its life together.

Signposts, regardless of how small, always have functions. This signpost is no different. Graduating from eighth grade may or may not rank highly with other events in your life. But regardless of rank, the graduation is a signpost nonetheless.

Eighth grade graduation is a signpost for parents in that it is a clear marking of a necessary and vital change in the role and function of parenting. This child, whom you may have once held on your lap and fed, is no longer a chi…