Ah, the joys of parenthood. Dealing with the ups and downs, the silent scowls and irritable outbursts, the strange food combinations and massive messes. I am not talking about a four year old, here. I am talking about raising teenagers, which can be a whirlwind of epic proportions.
In fact, raising a teenager is so much like raising a toddler that you might feel as though you have regressed a decade and started the process all over. Here are five ways the two are nearly identical experiences.
“No!”
We all remember that natural part of development when our child first began to test their autonomy with that single exclamation. Yet, here many years later they appear to have rediscovered their love of that word.
Everything is a fight with them, every request met with resistance. It can be enough to drive anyone insane; and yet, it is as natural a part of development now as it was when they were two. As they climb ever closer to adulthood they are reaching forward to discover new boundaries and assert themselves as individuals.
Too bad it is so obnoxious.
Emotional Meltdowns
You may find yourself these days walking on eggshells when it comes to your teen. They are likely to go from being mildly annoyed into a full blown breakdown at any moment. Once upon a time you would just put them in their room for some quiet time. Now they hardly leave their room when they are home, and it doesn’t remain an option.
Hormones, stresses, fears and even lack of sleep combine during these years to make a volatile soup of instability. Don’t worry, it passes.
Erratic Sleeping Patterns
It is three in the afternoon and your child is wandering zombie-like into the kitchen, only awaking for the first time that day. It has been like that all summer, which probably has something to do with you walking by their door at three in the morning and seeing them on their Playstation 4, jabbering to their friends through the headset (though when you ask they swear they were in bed by midnight).
Can’t they just go to bed at a decent hour, and wake up in the morning like a normal human being? Can’t they just sleep through the night? Nope.
The Bottomless Pit
You bought an entire fridge full of food on Monday, and come Thursday the larders are bare. Thankfully you are able to do the magical task of whipping up a three course meal from baking soda, stale bread, ketchup, and a can of beans that have been in your cupboard for six years. But where did all that food go?
Growing bodies need a lot of sustenance….boy can that kid eat!
“Can I Have It?”
And you thought that $30 talking Power Ranger doll was expensive. Now the toys are iPhones with unlimited data plans, XBox Ones, a laptop that can be used for both school and gaming, college tuition.
They still want toys, those toys just cost infinitely more than they used to.
The good news is that this phase, too, will pass. Eventually, all of the testing of boundaries and learning life lessons will catch up to that teen of yours and you’ll see before you a full blown adult – responsible for themselves and even for the lives of other little humans. It’s the cirlce of life! If you’ve already reached the teen years with your children, be patient. This cycle’s end will come sooner than you’re ready for!
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This post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock