Parenting: The Challenge

I have a dirty little secret.  I actually kind of like teens.  I feel like a have a rapport with them that I don’t really feel with younger kids.  Parenting teenagers was really fun, for the most part.  Granted these were my step kids, and we didn’t have them full time.  Maybe it would have been different if we were solely responsible for all the discipline. But even with that, my husband and I had a lot of fun with his kids as teens.

So, are you rolling your eyes and thinking “yeah right”? Really I’m serious. I had a good time when my kids were teens.  The first reason is that teenagers keep you in touch with pop culture. Music, TV and movies are directly marketed to certain age groups.  You can miss out on a lot if you don’t have a reason to listen or watch.  I was able to maintain my college love of rock music by introducing my stepson to my favorite bands.  He did me the same favor and we even went to a couple concerts together. My stepdaughter introduced me to the Twilight book series.  A wonderful read, but I never would have picked it up without her encouragement.

And then there is the social aspect.  My kids’ friends always wanted to come to our house. We got to know them and they got to know us.  We had some wonderful game nights with them. And you know what, they were actually very respectful.  My stepson was an Emo kid.  You know the type: long dyed hair, piercings, and skinny jeans.  These kids look kind of scary.  But in truth, they were a kick in the pants.  We let the band practice in our garage and had a special snack shelf for them in the pantry. To some this might have been a hassle, but to us, it was great.  We knew all the kids, they were at our house where we could supervise them, and we got the benefit of socializing with them.

Once the kids got older, they started doing their own things.  College, work, trips. We don’t see them as often and it is a little lonely.  But we have our two little ones, only 6 and 8.  So those days will be here again.  Already my little girl is sharing music with me (Ke$ha anyone?) and my son is reading books that I like as well (another Lord of the Rings fan is born!).  I am excited to keep this tiny bit of youth flowing into my consciousness for a little longer.  Teens, they’ll drive you crazy, but they will keep you young.