It is horrible. But my experience is only with my oldest, always challenging daughter. I hope my younger two will be different. As it is, I am in a new stage of hell with her and the younger two suffer.

Love my 17 and 14 y.o. teens- they have their moods at times, but in general it's great.

It's a joy--truly!

It really depends on the kid. Sorry!

^^^ That's good advice and so is the one someone has posted on DCUM before >> QTIP = Quit Taking it Personally.

The part that frustrates me is my DS who could be getting better grades if he'd get himself organized. This has been an ongoing battle for 3+ years and it's tiring. Waiting for executive functioning to kick in.

Some good advice I got for the teenage years and the associated lippiness: "Be a little deaf."

I have a 15 year old son and a daughter who will be 13 shortly. I love having teens. For one thing, as others have said, they are not just some random teenagers but the same kids who have been living in my house all this time. And I also love that they are good company and I can talk with them about a wider range of things than I could when they were younger. Yes, my son farts and can be obnoxious, and my daughter is becoming moody, but they are wonderful, interesting people.

It's very hard some of the time. It's very fun much of the time. It's worth it all of the time.

The stakes can be so high for teens and mistakes, so the parental worries are great, but it's a rewarding stage, even when it's really hard.

Anonymous wrote:PP with 4 girls here.
What about "attitude"? It's already emerging in our preteen and I am not sure I will be able to handle it in 4 at once...

I think the key is to REALLY pick your battles. I let tone of voice or mumbling under breath while walking away slide if she's doing what I told her. I also try to do a bit more listening than lecturing. When DD is telling me some story I think "What does she want me to take away from this?" and I practice active listening. With my DD, I find I can often tease her out of bad moods using humor. When she's sad I can make her happy telling her cute stories of when she was very small. Some of the stories she doesn't remember happening, but she remembers hearing the stories for years.

Anonymous wrote:PP with 4 girls here.
What about "attitude"? It's already emerging in our preteen and I am not sure I will be able to handle it in 4 at once...

Hmmmm. Make sure they have a favorite Aunt on speed dial. And buy stock in companies that make towels and hair products.

-- favorite Aunt to 4 wonderful teenaged nieces

Anonymous wrote:Take my teens, . . . . Please. . ..
Boom!

No way. Can' barely handle living with the one I've got.

I have two teenagers (two girls) and another approaching (boy); I have really enjoyed it for the most part. It pays to have a very good sense of humor and not take everything so seriously. I have also enjoyed it more than when they were babies/toddlers. That said, the next one could totally change that feeling.

My son is 13 and struggles academically so I feel I'm always stressed during the school year. Otherwise (weekends and summer) it is a treat to watch him grow up. He's amazing, we spent a month in Spain together and he was the best travel partner and companion. Its amazing to see the love of your life develop and grow. I know I couldn't of handled more than 1 kid though.

Take my teens, . . . . Please. . ..
Boom!

My eldest had a couple of really hard years, but even so it's been a great ride. She's 18 now, and it feels like we've come through the other side. We have some really interesting conversations these days.

The other 2 are 16 and 13, and so far, so good.