Who pops to mind when I say the words “best friend?" Is it a childhood friend that you knew since elementary school? How about a friend you met a year ago? A teammate? Well, maybe some people will say their parents, their mom, dad, or both! I can say with pride that my mom is hands down my best friend.

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of best friends. I have sorority sisters and childhood friends, but the person at the top of my list is my mom.

She's been there for me ever since I could remember...wow, I wonder why. But seriously, this woman has been the person I could go to for anything and everything. Even though I'm in college, we still FaceTime every day, we send snaps to each other on the daily, and we text about anything.

There's been talk for a long time that parents should not be their child's best friend, that the parents should only be there for discipline and to teach the rules or to give support once in a while. Really? Do you not want to develop a relationship with your kid where they feel comfortable enough to go to you for anything? What if they were scared to talk about something that is super personal to them? If you were to parent, wouldn't you be concerned about their well being? I believe that being your child's first being friend is to both the parent's and child's benefit. I trust my mom with anything, she's been there for me whenever I have a problem or I'm stressed. I'm comfortable with her no matter what, even in those silences that can be awkward, I'm with someone that I enjoy being with her and having her around. If you were only there to raise your kid with rules and discipline, you might end up with a child who sees you as their parent but not a friend.

If people are concerned that they wouldn't be respected as a parent if they were also a friend, they can get that wrong too. My mom was great and discipline and teaching me how to behave, I still give her a lot of respect because she's my mom and being my friend doesn't change that. I guess it's in how you raise your kids. Parents shouldn't be pushovers or rude to their family, that will only make the respect go away in an instant.

Like I said before, I trust my mom with everything and that's important when having a close relationship with your kids. These relationships are what can create a lot of more memories for years to come, I know that I've already made so many with my mom. I'm also so grateful that I get to have that close connection and relationship with her, it's the mother-daughter bond that I'll cherish forever.