Parents: are you your child's friend?

Can you be a friend to your child? Or is it impossible to be a friend and a parent at the same time?

It seems to me that friendship is an equal relationship. Obviously, parents and children do not have equal relationships. One is responsible for the other… or is supposed to be responsible for the other.

I tell my daughter that I’m not her friend. I’m her father. I’m not eligible to be her friend, and she is always giving me shit about that. I can’t tell if she’s serious or if she’s just teasing me. I hope she doesn’t feel like I don’t like her if I don’t call myself her friend.

In any case, as we had this discussion tonight, she suggested I ask the question of you guys.