Birth of a teenager – What you should know about living with a teen

I’m expecting – no I’m not pregnant. I’m expecting a teenager. My son who is 12 ¾ is turning 13 years old in a couple of weeks. I will soon have two teenagers in my house. I don’t know whether I should celebrate or run away screaming like the women in horror movies.

I’ve always heard that when kids hit the teen years, more challenges begin. Below are a few things I’m learning about teens:

1.      They want their own space – they don’t want you to enter their bedroom without knocking. I don’t remember seeing either one of my kids name on a bill (sarcasm), but I go ahead and humor them and honor their privacy within reason.

2.      Teens want you to love them – just don’t show it around their friends or anywhere in public. Anywhere outside of our house is considered a no hug zone.

3.      If you happen to like one of the songs that they listen to, don’t let them see you dancing to it or singing the words. They become distraught, discombobulated and any other kind of “dis” you can think of.

As I was writing this post I remembered a similar article I’d written for annarbor.com last year about teens requiring a special set of rules. The Teen Commandments below were born.

·         Thou shalt not slam any doors…car, bedroom, cabinets, etc.

·         Thou shalt not use the word “why” unnecessarily…why do I have to do it?, why can’t my brother do it? Why do I have to clean my room? Why do you want the house clean so badly?

·         Thou shalt not use thy mothers name in vain…Ma, Ma, Momma!!! I can’t find my school ID! Ma, Ma, Ma???

·         Thou shalt not return empty containers (cereal boxes, cookie packages, etc.) to the cabinets or fridge.

I stopped at four commandments to save room for any unforeseen circumstances that may arise, requiring the need for a new commandment. As I searched  for other sympathizers of the teen struggle, AKA other parents of teens, I came across an interesting article. The article was titled, Ten Commandments of parenting teenagers.

Some of those commandments include:

·         Praise in public, criticize in private

·         When they really screw up is when they need you most.

·         Yes, you do have to tell them things a thousand times. Stop counting and get over it.

·         Remind yourself, they won’t be teenagers forever. One day you will look back on these years and laugh. Maybe.

What advice would you give to parents raising teenagers?