Our four kids are ages 19, 15, 13, and 11. We are smack-dab in the middle of raising us some teenagers. Here are a few things I've learned along the way:
1) There's no such thing as too much sleep
2) When a boy and girl are dating, they don't refer to it as dating. It's called "going out" - even though as tweens, they often don't actually go anywhere. Right before they start "going out" they are just "talking." If you hear the phrase "hooking up" then you probably have something to worry about. That's when they've reached the intimate phase. OY!
3) Apparently, way back when my husband and I were teens, we sat around in circles, holding hands and singing kum-bah-ya...we have no idea what it's really like to be a teenager nowadays (this according to my 19 yr. old son)
4) A penny saved is a penny earned?....nope! A penny saved is one more penny to spend before it burns a hole in the pocket.
5) It's best to pick your battles. I could probably find something each and every day to rant and fuss about with my teens. But, I've learned that they can start to tune me out if it seems like I'm getting on them all the time. So, sometimes I have to bite my tongue or turn a blind eye over the little things. It's better for me to only go to battle when absolutely necessary.
6) No matter what you do, there are going to be times that your teenager a)thinks you're an idiot b)is embarrassed to be seen with you or c)tells you that you have ruined their life. It will hurt, but you have to just take it with a grain of salt and know that they probably won't feel that way for long.
7) I can never have too much food in the house. They will always be hungry and always be rummaging through the pantry or fridge.
Do you have any teenagers? What have you learned about raising teens?
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
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3 comments:
Mine are not teens yet, so I get to enjoy all of that loveliness in a few years. I had to laugh at the "talking" vs. "hooking-up" - if only because "talking" is what we always told our parents we were doing... :)
Boy, do I relate to this post! I have one teen right now with another one turning 13 in October. I am learning to bite my tongue often or I would have one battle after the other. And you're so right that we have to watch out for any of those hooking up references!
Mine are not teenagers yet too, but I have many teenagers to deal with, so I have gathered some useful info here.
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