Parenting teens is a whole different level of parenting, we go from that baby stage worrying whether they are sleeping correctly, what food to feed them during weaning and then waiting for them to take their first steps. Then comes the joy and tears over their first day at nursery, the first day at school and their starring role in the Christmas production. You fast forward a few years and you have the stress of SATs and high school choices, which is where it feels as though life has just passed you by in the blink of an eye.
But then there is more.
Fast forward a couple more years and you find yourself with a teenager and GCSE choices to be made, when the reality kicks in that they only have a few more years left in school before they start to find their own way in the world.
I don’t want to think about what is to come in a few years’ time!
Time is really not on your side, so if your children are small, make sure you savour every minute of it as you can’t get that time back. However, don’t be put off by what you may read about teenagers, it is a great stage in parenting and there are still so many firsts to come.
Yes, they no longer need you to pick out their clothes for the day, but trust me, there will be plenty of “Muuummm I forgot I need this kit for tomorrow!” usually at 9 pm… If your teens are anything like Ethan, his clean washing very rarely makes it into the drawers or wardrobe. It lives on the floor until it has been worn and then goes into the washing basket again.
They become independent enough to make their own food but the first thing they usually ask when you walk through the door after a long day at work is what is for dinner. The fussiness doesn’t disappear either, it just becomes bigger portions of fussy food!
Bedtimes become later, as do the lie in the next day yet they still expect me to go in and say good night to them every night. It means that you don’t get so much time to just be you and not be a parent, however, they are not so needy and usually entertain themselves or are happy to sit down and watch a film.
What I am trying to say, although it is sad that one chapter is coming to a close, don’t let the emotions and thoughts of what if I had done things differently creep in. It is hard to see how far you have come from finding out you are going to be a parent to those baby days and then on to now. I know it is daunting letting go, but I still find it hard when the kids walk to and from school or head off on trips. However, have a little faith in how you have raised them and what they are becoming.
You have shaped their life for the future and you can look back on that and be proud.