I can’t WAIT to have teens!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You really need a 10-12 year old.

But ho ahead and dream.

I agree this is a sweet spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ummm parents of teens can sleep….so I can’t can’t can’t freaking wait!!!!! To have teens!! Imagine going to bed and waking up not at 6 am! And wow, no potty breaks or bad dreams or wondering if it’s a 5 wake-up night or 1 wake up night or none.

Everything else everyone wrote I am ignoring, you all forget how it is to not sleep. Nothing else matters.

Except when they are out late with friends or when they miss curfew, or when the car monitor rings because they are driving recklessly . . . And they have to leave for the school bus by 6:30 am so after you finally fall asleep at 2 am, you’ve got maybe 4 hours. At least babies and little kids are happy to see you in the morning.

[Anonymous]

And issues like anxiety and depression are common in teens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Except when they are out late with friends or when they miss curfew, or when the car monitor rings because they are driving recklessly . . . And they have to leave for the school bus by 6:30 am so after you finally fall asleep at 2 am, you’ve got maybe 4 hours. At least babies and little kids are happy to see you in the morning.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You really need a 10-12 year old.

But ho ahead and dream.

Yep. Best ages are age 8-12. I remember feeling as you do and yes, you will have plenty of time to sleep and read newspaper / drink coffee with teens but you will be too busy worrying about them to snjoy. And then they will be out of the house and you will miss worrying about them. No won situation until grandkids I am told…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ummm parents of teens can sleep….so I can’t can’t can’t freaking wait!!!!! To have teens!! Imagine going to bed and waking up not at 6 am! And wow, no potty breaks or bad dreams or wondering if it’s a 5 wake-up night or 1 wake up night or none.

Everything else everyone wrote I am ignoring, you all forget how it is to not sleep. Nothing else matters.

FWIW, I was awakened at 1AM when DS15 started rummaging through the refrigerator. Was awakened again at 2AM when I realized he had left on every light in the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ummm parents of teens can sleep….so I can’t can’t can’t freaking wait!!!!! To have teens!! Imagine going to bed and waking up not at 6 am! And wow, no potty breaks or bad dreams or wondering if it’s a 5 wake-up night or 1 wake up night or none.

Everything else everyone wrote I am ignoring, you all forget how it is to not sleep. Nothing else matters.

Oh, yes, sure, I can sleep when my 16 y.o. DD is NOT home and it's hitting 1am...I'm just so relaxed...right?
Please. I haven't slept since my kids were babies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ummm parents of teens can sleep….so I can’t can’t can’t freaking wait!!!!! To have teens!! Imagine going to bed and waking up not at 6 am! And wow, no potty breaks or bad dreams or wondering if it’s a 5 wake-up night or 1 wake up night or none.

Everything else everyone wrote I am ignoring, you all forget how it is to not sleep. Nothing else matters.

LOL, lol, lol, how many lols is too many?
No, parents of teens stay up to drive them home from club 9 30, and they wake up early to go to some sports' practice (cause, they be the next big thing, you know...) but it is your fault if they oversleep, and then they go and watch Friday football games and get caught smoking pot, and then they throw a party when you are on a work trip, and you get a call by the police at 2 am and you are in another state cause your were op and you trusted them, or you were a moron and you trusted them.
And they open up some nasty can of booze in the car, and tell you, no mom, this is just my body odor!!!
Oh, and they wake up for most activities before 6 am, and you know, some of us work.... so we wake up before 5 am to get them ready, cause toddlers can get ready better on their own, and if you don't help them, you need to pay for therapy cause, everyone else's parent love them and are there for them...

[Anonymous]

I can't wait to have a 10-year-old. Less angsty but still pretty independent. And even some kids at 12-13 are great. My nephew that age is a dream. Plus they can generally stay home at that age.

I feel you, OP. My colleague was complaining about her teen the other day and I'm over here like "when do I get to stop handling poop?"

[Anonymous]

You think young kids are bad?
This was a part f the post on the teen thread.
One time she screamed in the car, on Bethesda row like a banshee, I mean at 15 for me not letting her got to Delaware with a friend for the Firefly or some similar music fest. They invited her that afternoon to go that night, and mom was going to sleep in a hotel!
To reassure me, she said, "mom, bands from your age, old geezers are playing like the Grateful Dead and there will be no drugs for old geezers!"
Oh, and this was a month after she threw an unauthorized party at the house when I had to go on a trip! And she was still doing a class for her violation!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was a really easy teen for my parents (validated by them) so maybe that’s coloring my perception too? I was very independent.

I was a sullen nightmare of a teenager, but my kids (21, 18, 16) have been pretty great, barring one spate of eye-rolling that lasted a month or two.

[Anonymous]

I loved having teens. I think a lot of parents go in expecting teens to be terrible and at the first indication of typical teen stuff they go “Ah here it is this is gonna be awful” and they overreact and constantly expect the worst and manifest a negative circle. I’m not saying it is easy but parents of teens make a lot of their own trouble by picking battles that don’t matter, lacking empathy and only seeing what is wrong. It is great to have people in the house with real legit opinions and ideas even if they are black and white and overconfident. It is fun to discuss things with them. It is fun to watch actually good tv shows and movies together instead of animated stuff. It is fun to hear how the younger generation thinks. My teenagers absolutely helped me to be a better person by expanding my mind about so many issues. And yes I did get up at 6 for the bus but it is sweet to have people who sleep until noon on Saturday and Sunday! It doesn’t have to be miserable!

[Anonymous]

You think what you watch on a TV show is reality?

This is what is wrong with America

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While it's true that big kids often have big problems, the truth is I have loved having teens-- they are great. (My kids are 23 and 18.)

Parenting small children is physically exhausting in a way that parenting older kids just isn't. And yes, you do get to kick back with a cup of coffee on the regular.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I loved having teens. I think a lot of parents go in expecting teens to be terrible and at the first indication of typical teen stuff they go “Ah here it is this is gonna be awful” and they overreact and constantly expect the worst and manifest a negative circle. I’m not saying it is easy but parents of teens make a lot of their own trouble by picking battles that don’t matter, lacking empathy and only seeing what is wrong. It is great to have people in the house with real legit opinions and ideas even if they are black and white and overconfident. It is fun to discuss things with them. It is fun to watch actually good tv shows and movies together instead of animated stuff. It is fun to hear how the younger generation thinks. My teenagers absolutely helped me to be a better person by expanding my mind about so many issues. And yes I did get up at 6 for the bus but it is sweet to have people who sleep until noon on Saturday and Sunday! It doesn’t have to be miserable!

OP here. I agree. Most people on here sound like terrible parents who never have time and energy to listen to their kids and engage in preventive care, so to speak, so I’m not surprised they’re having a lot of trouble with their teens. And they act like life is terrible because they have to stay up late to enforce curfew 1-2 nights a week!