The Hardest Part of Parenting a Teenager (So Far)?
Dealing with their indifference
There have been many challenging phases during the raising of my kids. Each is notable for different reasons. A new-born, particularly the first child demands that you develop a whole new skillset overnight. There’s a pressing need to interpret and respond to whims and desires more or less by intuition alone, all through decoding their crying.
Once a toddler is able to express their own will, the tests become more complex and nuanced. The odds are no longer stacked in the parents’ favour and depending on the cunning of the child there can be a distinct feeling that the balance of power has shifted from parent to child.
As kids move on to school, they go from being the top-dog at home to being the smallest fish in a big pond as the step onto the bottom rung of the educational ladder. Where the parent may previously have been able to limit outside influences, restrict exposure to bad-language and encourage the regular eating of broccoli, the kid suddenly realises that standards applied to them are not the same universally. Behavioural shifts emerge and new relationships with friends, teachers, bullies and older kids all contribute challenges that parents must help their kids navigate.
