I am a parent of 3 children, one daughter 34, 1 son 19, and 1 son 17. Yesterday my youngest son wanted to go to Morehead with some of his friends and we said no because of the road - needless to day he was upset. I hate being a "bad dog" but I'm still glad he didn't go - some wrecks were people were hurt yesterday.

It seemed easier when they were younger, does anybody else have an opinion about it. I am also a teacher of high school students so I know how teenagers react to their parents.

My mom says I'm still a handful ... :devil:

I COMPLETELY agree Mom55!! My daughter is also 17 and I can tell you that being a parent for a child that age is MUCH harder than when she was 7! I kinda start there because she was a preemie (2 lbs) so it was kinda touch and go for awhile. But from the time they are about 12 years old there are many other life-threatening things to worry about (drugs, alcohol, pregnancy) not to mention THE MOUTH!!! lol

 

I must say though . . . I have been VERY LUCKY that mine is such a beautiful, wonderful person. She's thoughtful and considerate of others (even though she doesn't demonstrate those wonderful qualities at home on a normal basis) and hasn't caused me too much worry with the normal difficulties of the day (drugs etc).

 

But . . . now the worries are increasing because she will soon be moving out of my house :cry: and dear ol' mom will just have to hope and pray (DAILY) that she continues to demonstrate these wonderful qualities in all her decisions.

I am a parent of 3 children, one daughter 34, 1 son 19, and 1 son 17. Yesterday my youngest son wanted to go to Morehead with some of his friends and we said no because of the road - needless to day he was upset. I hate being a "bad dog" but I'm still glad he didn't go - some wrecks were people were hurt yesterday.

It seemed easier when they were younger, does anybody else have an opinion about it. I am also a teacher of high school students so I know how teenagers react to their parents.

I am a retired high school teacher so I too have walked in your shoes. I agree parenting gets harder as they get older....especially the teenage and college years.

As my daughter storms around the house making us late for church because she does not have any shoes to match her outfit, I say ABSOLUTELY YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With my mom I would say that it was easier the older I got. My mom was so young when she and my dad had me that we just kinda grew up together. We became friends and we still are the best of friends today.

 

With me, the older our foster children became, the harder it was to parent! The stomping around the house, me not knowing anything, me being too old to understand (that was really funny because our oldest is just 5 years younger than me!), the worrying about if they will make the correct decisions, etc. It is so much harder.

My mother always used to say, "Someday when you have kids, you'll understand". I didn't at the time and wanted to do some of the other things, my friends were doing. I do now.

 

She was 100% right, now that I have teenagers. Sometimes "NO", is for their best interest, even though they don't agree. At the same time, having enough confidence in they won't get involved in anything wrong/tempting, is a tremendous worry and you pray their values/morales, will lead them.

Rewarding 80% of the time 20% major challenge.

I have changed a lot since I got to college and really been more appreciate and helpful for my parents (at least from my viewpoint :lol:) Nevertheless, I think my mom is about ready to give up sometimes dealing with my 15-year old & 13-year old brothers.

Constantly told by our 16-year old that we are the strictest parents of any of his friends (not even close to being true, but even if it was, we don't care ). Great kid, straight A student, mature, responsible, polite, great set of friends - wouldn't change a thing about him. But we simply have certain rules about curfew, car usage, homework first, chores, where/when he sees his girlfriend, how much money we regularly hand over to him for spending (he doesn't work a pt job because of sports/schoolwork and we give him money w/o doing chores because he will ultimately save us thousands via scholarships). I am sure we are more strict than most, but certainly not all. But it does get hard sometimes when there are parents out there that allow their kid to do whatever they want, whenever they want and your kids see that and want the same "liberties".

Constantly told by our 16-year old that we are the strictest parents of any of his friends (not even close to being true, but even if it was, we don't care ). Great kid, straight A student, mature, responsible, polite, great set of friends - wouldn't change a thing about him. But we simply have certain rules about curfew, car usage, homework first, chores, where/when he sees his girlfriend, how much money we regularly hand over to him for spending (he doesn't work a pt job because of sports/schoolwork and we give him money w/o doing chores because he will ultimately save us thousands via scholarships). I am sure we are more strict than most, but certainly not all. But it does get hard sometimes when there are parents out there that allow their kid to do whatever they want, whenever they want and your kids see that and want the same "liberties".

 

OH, my, yes. One of our girls was invited to a sleep over. A bunch of kids were going to be there from school and the parents were going to be there at all times. Our daughter was 15 at the time. PH nor I had ever heard her talk of this friend before. Well, our 14 year old told us about this sleep over. Yes, the parents were going to be there, however, so would boys. Our 15 year old said she knew about the boys, but, EVERYONE is going to be there. PH and I told her that she would NOT got to the sleep over...PERIOD! This became a two day argument. I decided to call these parents up and ask if I were understanding this sleep over correctly.....maybe the boys would just be there to watch a movie and go home! No, I was understanding correctly, the boys were staying the night as well. Then I asked if there was going to be a boys and girls place to sleep...no, they were all going to "camp" out on the floor in the "play" room. When I told the mom that we would not be sending our daughter to the sleep over, the mom got mad at me....she told me that I was too strict! Anyway, I guess I got off topic, but, when you said it is harder when parents will let there children do things that you would not and it can make it harder, I just thought I would let you know that I totally agree!

It is even harder to be a good parent to teens when, evidently, the moment a child turns 13 the parents become old, stupid, embarassing with terrible taste in clothing, music.........and everything else!

I think the toughest times are those that redefine the kind of person that your son/daughter feels he/she is. For example, when they start dating, when they get their driver's license, when they go to college. If you transition those humps effectively then you can handle most anything.

It is even harder to be a good parent to teens when, evidently, the moment a child turns 13 the parents become old, stupid, embarassing with terrible taste in clothing, music.........and everything else!

 

or 12....unless they need money! :lol::lol:

I COMPLETELY agree Mom55!! My daughter is also 17 and I can tell you that being a parent for a child that age is MUCH harder than when she was 7! I kinda start there because she was a preemie (2 lbs) so it was kinda touch and go for awhile. But from the time they are about 12 years old there are many other life-threatening things to worry about (drugs, alcohol, pregnancy) not to mention THE MOUTH!!! lol

 

I must say though . . . I have been VERY LUCKY that mine is such a beautiful, wonderful person. She's thoughtful and considerate of others (even though she doesn't demonstrate those wonderful qualities at home on a normal basis) and hasn't caused me too much worry with the normal difficulties of the day (drugs etc).

 

But . . . now the worries are increasing because she will soon be moving out of my house :cry: and dear ol' mom will just have to hope and pray (DAILY) that she continues to demonstrate these wonderful qualities in all her decisions.

 

I could have written this same scenario word for word. I also have a wonderful 17 year old daughter who will be leaving the nest for WKU next fall. I have all the confidence in the world that she will continue to make good decisions and become a good, decent, productive member of society someday. However, I have to say that not only does it get more difficult as they get older it also gets much more expensive (cars, insurance, proms, school rings, jackets, dates, and much more too numerous to mention). :jump: