Things No One Told Me About Parenting a Teenage Son
Being one of three girls in my family, I don’t have much experience with boys. And what I even have less experience with is a teenage boy. I’m the parent of three boys and my oldest is now in the thick of his teenage years. Many of my friends are parents to teenagers and many of them are parents to teen sons. We often chat or text about parenting and here is a list of the things that no one tells you about parenting teenage sons.
They are emotional.
I feel that teenage girls get a bad rap for being overly emotional. With puberty in full force, hormones raging throughout their body; I can guarantee that boys are just as emotional as girls. They may not outwardly show it, but they are emotional too.
They are still children.
Sure, your son may be pushing 6 feet tall and has a 5 o’clock shadow, but he is still a child. This is a time where he is testing your limits. Just because they may almost look like an adult, we have to remember that they aren’t.
They will start to date.
This one hit me like a ton of bricks, y’all. My son has been at an all boys school for years so girls have not been a part of his everyday life. Hearing him on the phone now with girls is exciting and terrifying. Be prepared Mamas! I’m not looking forward to the first breakup.
They won’t listen to your advice.
We’ve been having lots of talks lately and it seems like no matter what my husband or I say, it’s unwanted. However, he came to me a few days later after a conversation and admitted that one of his friends agreed with me. So, that’s a small victory I guess.
They don’t want to talk to you.
I say this mostly because the days of him coming to just chat with me now are few. However, the best chats we have are in the car. Maybe it’s because he is trapped with me for 10 minutes or more? Whatever it is, I’ll take it. So don’t take that call or blare your radio, ask him questions.
While this transition from “boys to men” is new to me as my first round of raising a teenager, it’s a welcomed stage of parenthood. Knowing I have just a few more years of him at home before he graduates high school, makes things bittersweet. The biggest rewards come from the hardest challenges.
