I’d gotten a bit cocky, I suppose, thinking I had this whole parenting thing nailed.
It all seemed to be going quite smoothly. I had three children that although a challenge at times, were seemingly treading the path they were supposed to follow. Then one of them turned into a teenager.
There are changes that happen when your child becomes a teenager, ones that no one warns you about when you have that seemingly compliant tween in your midst.
That’s why I’m here, to warn you.
Here are some signs that you now have a teenager living under your roof. Feel free to add your own.
1. You run out of hot water.
There was a time when I couldn’t get my daughter into the shower. Now, now I almost have to physically extract her morning and night. Commonly referred to as the ‘Hour of Shower’, my husband has simply taken to turning off the water when the pounding on the door doesn’t work.
When she finally does emerge, she pouts and tells me: “I was washing my HAIR!’
How much can one hair follicle take?
The only silver lining I can take from this is that she is clean. Because her room certainly isn’t.
2. You require a tetanus shot to enter their bedroom.
No, seriously. That place is a freaking minefield and, if you put one foot wrong, you’d better have some heavy-duty penicillin on hand. Most teenagers are quite simply, filthy animals. For some unknown reason, it is physically impossible for them to return dishes to the sink or remove last Wednesday’s underpants from the bedroom floor.
Top Comments
LOVE THIS - yes relate to them all. But what I want to comment on is the wonderful, supporting comments! I have posted a couple of times on various things on Mamamia and have been bullied, picked apart and told what a bad parent I am by those who are parenting under 5's - while I parent a 21year old and a 17yo! So THANK YOU to you wonderful people (who with the benefit of experience) realise that there is NO one way to parent - but that sometimes you need to look outside the box and do what works.
2) Cutlery and crockery are not allowed in bedrooms. So that one's not an issue.
And I don't care how much clothing is spread out on the floor, nor its state of cleanliness. Clothing in the laundry basket will be washed, in one load, with no apartheid practiced. If you have a problem with this, or a lack of available clothing, feel free to do your own washing anytime you please. Worked very well for me.
6) I was a shift worker. I couldn't have cared less when they ate, or slept. Because I was likely to be more out of whack than them.