Things I Love About Parenting Teenagers
IT’S NOT ALL BAD. PROMISE.
Remember when you used to dream about being a parent? When you thought that a baby might be the ribbon on that ‘perfect life’ parcel. How did you imagine it would be? Delicious scented babies wrapped in warm fluffy towels? Happy girls in pig-tails, skipping along the road holding mummy’s hand? I’m willing to bet that it didn’t involve a screaming red infant whose flailing stiff arms make it impossible to wrap him up in anything at all, or the angry hot-headed toddler who refuses to get up off the supermarket floor (again).
I know one thing for certain, none of our (blissfully ignorant) daydreams crept anywhere the teenage years. I think there’s a very good reason why our brains seem to have a mental block with regard to looking too far forward; probably the same reason why we blot out the sheer agony of childbirth – the human race would die out very quickly!
The problem with writing a blog about family life, is that eventually your kids do grow up into the spotty, uncommunicative, clumsy species commonly known as ‘Teenagers’. If you’re not very careful, this means that your blog comes with a certain warning, complete with neon flashing lights: ‘Read at Your Peril’. It might also mean that anyone preferring to live in their own shiny bubble of happiness (rather than prepare for reality) will soon stop reading altogether.
BUT (wait for it) there are some massive pluses to living with teenagers. No really, there are. In an attempt to jump off the running-down-teenagers band wagon, I want to do two things today: 1) encourage those of you who do persevere with my blog that life isn’t about to end once your kid hits 13; and 2) create a much-needed keepsake for those bad days (of which there are plenty).
- You’ll never see 6am again. Does this need an explanation? I thought not.
- You no longer need eyes in the back of your head. Teenagers don’t move all that much. When and if they do, it’s at the pace of a sloth.
- You can have a (relatively) logical debate. Remember those 3am ‘chats’ about whether pink is better than yellow? Gone, gone, gone.
- You never have to get involved in homework again. In fact when homework is going on, you will be banished from the room. Hoorah!
- You’ll always have a ‘back up’. Run out of nail varnish remover? Forgotten your hair straighteners on holiday? You will always know someone who has a better (and probably more expensive) supply than you – assuming you have a daughter that is.
- You’ll only ever need to pack one suitcase. Obviously your husband still requires you to pack for him but the kids? They will dismiss your neatly-folded (control-freak? moi?) efficient packing technique.
- You will never again have to coax anyone into eating a meal. Your grocery bill might double but that painful process of turning tea into a game that involves mum doing an Irish jig between every mouthful? I dare you to try it.
- You can finally purchase that white fluffy rug (and feel confident it will stay that colour for longer than 2 days).
- No more baby sitters. This is my personal favourite. Gone are the days of spending more than half your evening’s budget on a babysitter that you have to buy snacks for and drive home at the end of the evening.
- You will always have someone to watch Friends with. Yep, this is one show that has longevity.
- You can have a bath on your own. In fact you can have endless amounts of me time, to the point where you miss being needed a little bit but this is supposed to be positive so…
- You will never have to worry about or question your fashion sense. You’ll know immediately if you’ve got it wrong…again. Get it right? The item will magically disappear.
- You’ll become a selfie master. Every Teenager can spot a bad one unfolding at fifty paces. Too high….too many chins….wrong angle….need I go on?
Have I reassured you that it’s not all bad? Normal service will resume shortly; I promise.
Article Source: http://3childrenandit.com/2016/04/things-i-love-about-parenting-teenagers.html
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