The Rush

'If they grow slow, they grow strong' - when I saw this on a Steve Bidulf Facebook page it really resonated with me.
Lately (okay, always) I've been wondering and worrying about whether or not I'm doing this parenting thing right. Not that I believe there is only one right way but I know for sure there are some wrong ways. And sometimes I get it so wrong.
One of the things I've been finding the toughest of late is definitely the speed in which our kids seem to want to grow up. Or perhaps the pressure surrounding them to do so. I constantly need to take a step back and repeat 'he is only eight' to myself in order to make a practical decision! As a parent I feel pressure to allow my children to do certain things, to have certain things, to watch certain things etc... and sometimes it all gets too much. I realise eight doesn't exactly qualify him to be my 'baby' as such, but when eight begins to feel like the new twelve, I start to second guess my expectations.
Is it just me or are other parents struggling with this fast-paced-growing-up-ness that is happening to our children?