Parenting Teens

As some of you may know, I have two teenagers at home. I have found this to be one of the most draining, frustrating stages of parenthood yet. Personally, babies were the hardest, but now they have opinions and they are both bigger than me! It has been so hard to maintain my cool when one of them makes a poor choice, and I have stay level-headed. This has been a particular problem with one child. I have not always been successful in keeping myself from saying, “what is wrong with you?!” Little parenting tip: Don’t say this if you can help it. It doesn’t help. Weathering the storm of teenage hormones has been difficult even though we knew it was coming. 

My main solace in this season of life has been the knowledge that God’s got this too. We have raised our children in faith and the love of the Lord, and we have to trust that He will bring them to an adult faith but also to have the ability to have good relationships with other people. It is so hard to sit back knowing that my correction only goes so far. They are no longer young children, and they have to be able to have the room to make mistakes. My role is changing in their lives, and I have to learn how that role works. 

On a positive note, we are able to do things with them that we weren’t able to do before. Paddleboarding, under their own steam, meeting for lunch, and church youth activities are just a few. It is enjoyable to get to know my kids as “almost” adults. They are fun, and I can see glimpses of how they will be as adults, but I definitely won’t miss the emotional whiplash. 

As an aside, we got to “make sundaes” with the kids this last Wednesday. The kids laughed, and dumping stuff on them from the roof may or may not have been a little “therapeutic.”

Lydia Massie, Director of Children’s Ministry