Anyone dealing with the day to day trials of parenting teens? We’ve been parenting at least one teen for over seven years now. Having done both boys and girls I am here to say that both have their set of challenges and rewards. Girls are very emotional and dealing with their ups and downs can be hard. Lora was hard during a few years there in the middle…especially around 14-16. She came back to me (emotionally) after that, though…and now on the other side of it she is one of my best friends.

Right now we are in the thick of parenting two teen boys. Daniel is almost 17 and David is 14. The biggest difference between boys and girls? Communication! Boys WILL NOT talk until they are ready and a teen boy getting to the place where he wants to talk is a lesson in patience. When they do give you a little inkling that they have something to discuss…DROP EVERYTHING…and listen.

I need to throw in a comparison here. We are parenting kids that are every age range – almost 2 to almost 17. Teens and toddlers have more in common than you would ever imagine. Both need firm guidance, obvious limits, lots of love, and not to be left to their own devices. My 2 year old hates being thwarted in whatever he is currently on a mission to achieve…my teens are the same way. Come to think of it…the communication issues are somewhat similar, too. Both ages have a hard time getting their thoughts out there.

I was really nervous about the teen years as we were approaching them for the first time… but now feeling a little more experienced in the teen parenting realm I will go on record as saying that my teens are some of my very favorite people!

Are you dealing with teens? How are you doing?