Raising Teenagers

As a mother of three teenagers I feel I have an obligation to all you unsuspecting parents who still have cute, cuddly, loving little people in your lives, about what life will be like when you are raising teenagers.

As far as teenagers go, I think I’ve got pretty good ones.   They don’t drink or smoke or stay up late.  They don’t do drugs or wag school.  They don’t loiter around shops or disrespect strangers.  They do however look at me strangely when I say I love them and plead with me not to “say anything” which may embarrass them in front of their friends.

Teenagers seem to have this right of passage.  The world revolves around them and heaven forbid if you have made plans for yourself and the teenager doesn’t fit into them, the world is turned upside down.

Try cuddling a teenager and you will get hands pushed into your ribs as they try to get away.  They will only talk to you when it suits them and you will only be grunted at if you ask a question about their day or how they are going.  They will only talk to you if it suits them.   My kids favourite word at the moment is “uiidno” which translates to “I don’t know” whenever they are asked where something is or what’s happened to the remote.

I Never Thought Raising Teenagers Would be Such Hard Work

Every year of your childs life is a stage they have to go through to reach the next one.  You go through the newborn stage and then teething , then crawling, then walking, then toilet training.  Then before you know it they are off to school.  You are there to hold their hand the whole way and are happy to do it.

Then one day they turn 13 and the world has changed.  Hormones start going rampant through your child’s body, they start getting pimples, and worst of all they develop an “attitude” the size of an Olympic pool.  Your way of parenting for the last 13 years goes out the window and it’s a whole new ball game.  You need to step back and give them space.  Needless to say, you still need to know where they are 24hrs a day, but it’s time to start slowly letting them develop into responsible adults and teaching them to become valuable, respectful members of society.

Even though raising teenagers seems to be like travelling down a bumpy road, I know mine will come out the other end as wonderful adults who will show empathy and respect for others and become productive and happy members of society.  I love my teenagers.

Have a Great Day

Jackie Stenhouse

Tags: raising teenagers, teenagers