Confession: I kinda sorta like my teens....

[Anonymous]

....don't tell anyone.

I have 4 of them. They are stinky and surly and not the best students or athletes but I am really liking this tween/teen age. My oldest is 17 and into music. He loves pawing through our old CDs and likes the same music I liked in high school. I have one into sports who always wants to watch NBA games with me so I am forced to know about this league I can't stand. One is cooking by my side all the time. She shops with me for the week and does a lot of prep so when I get home from work we can cook it all together. One is completely cantankerous and grumpy but at the end of the day still wants to snuggle.

They are such weird beings where they want to connect with us but on their own terms and in their own time. I don't like them all of the time man do they talk back. Still time for a few to go off the rails but for now I will just hang on, drink another glass of wine and hope they turn out to be functional adults.

[Anonymous]

Awww, that's wonderful OP! You sound like a great mom.

[Anonymous]

I like my teens, too. My oldest especially--not that I like him more, but the fact that he is so great as a teen surprises me more because he was a difficult child.

My teens (oldest is 19) still like me to read aloud to them, and they come to the door to greet me with hugs when I come home from work. When they leave the house together, they engage in a friendly rivalry about who gets the last kids from mom, lol.

[Anonymous]

^^who gets the last *kiss*

[Anonymous]

Ok I'll bite. When I'm not hating my 14 y.o., I really like her! I think she's very interesting and has a great mind and we have good talks. I think we are going to be friends when she grows up. She is like Jeckyl and Hyde, so you know how it is if you're a mom of a teen, it's like having a leopard for a pet. You admire and are attracted to them, but they bite sometimes. They can't help it; it's their nature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok I'll bite. When I'm not hating my 14 y.o., I really like her! I think she's very interesting and has a great mind and we have good talks. I think we are going to be friends when she grows up. She is like Jeckyl and Hyde, so you know how it is if you're a mom of a teen, it's like having a leopard for a pet. You admire and are attracted to them, but they bite sometimes. They can't help it; it's their nature.

OP here. Agree! Girls are more like that then the boys I think. The boys are more silent and sullen rarely have outbursts. But my girl says she hates me and her life often then wants to snuggle. Wtf I say?

I think part of this is that my mom died years ago. I wish I could ask her about this but stage but no such luck.

[Anonymous]

My DD is 14 and I LOVE this age! I like it so much better than the elementary school years. We have so much fun together now.

[Anonymous]

21:13 here. OP, I'm sorry about your mom. Mine is alive, but I don't think in this situation it matters.

It's a stage, and I've learned that the trick to what you described is to give zero emotion or attention to the "mom I hate you" stuff, and lots of attention to the snuggling.

I learned that from DCUM, when someone thankfully recommended a book called "yes your teen is crazy" and it works.

[Anonymous]

Me, too. Great age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:....don't tell anyone.

I have 4 of them. They are stinky and surly and not the best students or athletes but I am really liking this tween/teen age. My oldest is 17 and into music. He loves pawing through our old CDs and likes the same music I liked in high school. I have one into sports who always wants to watch NBA games with me so I am forced to know about this league I can't stand. One is cooking by my side all the time. She shops with me for the week and does a lot of prep so when I get home from work we can cook it all together. One is completely cantankerous and grumpy but at the end of the day still wants to snuggle.

They are such weird beings where they want to connect with us but on their own terms and in their own time. I don't like them all of the time man do they talk back. Still time for a few to go off the rails but for now I will just hang on, drink another glass of wine and hope they turn out to be functional adults.

I love this!!! So great, OP!! Makes me smile

[Anonymous]

Total shock to me...I love my teens! They don't want to be with us all the time but we have so much fun when we're together. Traveling is awesome now. We can go to places we all love.

[Anonymous]

I like this thread. Thanks for contributing.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 teenage daughters and they're the best! I seriously think they are the coolest, I love spending time with them and feel that we are getting closer and closer. Joys of my life

[Anonymous]

I enjoy my teenage son a lot-- we went through some very hard times with him but he seems to be coming out the other side and he likes to spend time with me and he's just a cool, interesting guy. I love my daughter but she's in the VERY moody stage right now and it's a bit hard to take. I finally have learned, through the hard times with the first one, to just walk away and take nothing personally!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I enjoy my teenage son a lot-- we went through some very hard times with him but he seems to be coming out the other side and he likes to spend time with me and he's just a cool, interesting guy. I love my daughter but she's in the VERY moody stage right now and it's a bit hard to take. I finally have learned, through the hard times with the first one, to just walk away and take nothing personally!

I don't have a teen yet, but I will remember this line. It is hard to just walk away and take nothing personally when kids talk back, not respectful and ignore you. I will try harder.