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Parenting Teens Usually Doesn’t Come With So Many Blissfully Sweet Moments
I find myself smiling to myself a lot these days.
Most parenting advice is focused on infants and either feeding them or helping them to sleep. Yet I found myself far more nervous and perplexed about the idea of parenting teens. I know teens will sleep or eat when they’re ready. I don’t need to monitor them at that level. But how do I help them become thoughtful, responsible young adults?
I braced myself for the stereotypical teen drama when my eldest daughter reached adolescence. After all, I was a horribly entitled teen — whiny and arrogant with an attitude that my poor parents patiently tolerated. It didn’t help that my immigrant parents had no idea the freedom that American teens have (nor our grooming habits and social lives). As I said in my earlier story, “it was definitely a challenge trying to persuade them to accommodate different expectations and adopt American customs.”
I reacted immaturely in many ways. I slammed my bedroom door when I was mad. I whined to my mother, on more than one occasion, “You don’t understand!” or “I can’t believe you’re so mean!” I refused to let her hold my hand or cling to my arm when we were in public. I’m sure I may have even yelled, “I hate you” at one point. I was THAT teen.
