I am the mom of these bookend boys.
The tail end bookend will be 9 months tomorrow.
9 months already! Can you believe it?
Francis is at a funny, demanding age, where he wants to be free at the same time he wants wants WANTS! Momma’s arms.
Yesterday he scooted across the floor to me. Hand over hand, he pulled himself up on my legs, then grinning up at me happily, he let go. For the briefest of moments he stood there, swaying, then… KONK! He fell backwards onto his head.
Parenting a 9-month-old isn’t easy.
Still.
It’s a cakewalk compared to parenting a teen.
When to lay low…when to push.
When to say, “Sure you can stay in and play League all night” and when to say, “Get out the door and make a difference!”
When to stop talking altogether. When to [try to] stop talking and instead, just listen.
There’s a part of me that knows it will be okay, but for now, it’s a hard and constant navigation. Do you have any favorite “parenting teens” resources? Any and all advice is welcome.
My baby will be 10 months in a few short days and our oldest is 13 and 1/2 and I tell my friends all the time that the baby is SOOOOO much easier to parent than the teen. Don't get me wrong, she is a wonderful daughter and we really haven't had to make huge decisions yet but Oh my the repercussions of those decisions when they come along! Mind blowing!
listen to them even though you do not want to. Laugh and joke WITH them. DONOT try to be their best friend, be their parent. If they want something that is out of the budget (those fancy designer clothing or electronic) advise them to get a job, but their schooling must not suffer.
I so wish someone had given me this advise when my kids were teenagers. Both kids are now in their twenties and had to learn some hard life lessons because of my parenting mistakes.
No advice as we are just over a year away from having an "official" teen-ager, but I will be anxious to read what others say and store it away for later.
Two words:
Adoration Chapel
PS, I want to kiss those cheekies on that sweet 9 month old!!!
My husband loves League! Haha. I wonder if they've ever played together.
Daily Mass and Weekly Confession!
(I agree with Jamie Jo too)
Look how that big bro loves his little bro..so precious! I think your teen son is going to be just fine. He has two parents living in the same home. A great family who loves him. He has a foundation built on the teachings of the Catholic Church. He is a lucky lad.
Feed him really good food and lots of hugs and kisses. I told my Zach I am still going to kiss him on the cheek until he has a wife. Hugs will always be there!
you are a great mama!
No great advice. Just keep at it. Let them know you love them even if you don't like their attitudes or choices and that is usually by actions not words. I have a long, long story about my relationsip with my oldest son. Suffice to say it was not the usual bloggable story where everyone tells you what a great mom I was etc…Alls well that ends well. He'll be 19 next week. Thriving at college, signed his AROTC contract and will commission as a 2nd Lt in 2017. I am his 'go-to'. He needs to talk, he texts/calls me. He tells me the good, the bad, the ugly.
Parenting them isn't much different than the 9 month old. You let Nicky stretch his wings, try something new, it may have worked out, but it didn't. You didn't save him from the consequences of his actions but you were there to make him feel better and support him when he tried again. My big kids are out in the world, being faced with some fairly big choices, a couple times they have made the poorer choice and with serious consequences. It was HARD for me but harder for them. Thankfully they learned, they also knew they could talk to me and even if I was mad I would still love and listen to them. Teens need to be listened to a lot more than lectured to. If you they trust you, they will come to you with the important questions, you won't have to initiate the vital conversations. Teens *can* be awesome. So much fun. There can be a lot of bumps along the road though and don't let the bumps knock you completely off track.
Wild at Heart by John Eldredge…not a Catholic author but a good book.
I fully believe that teens are harder to parent than babies… but I'm hoping they're easier than 5 year olds! Though with the five year old I have now, I am very afraid of her teen years.
Nine months!? No way. Gosh, he's so stinkin' cute.
My favorite parenting teens resource: The Rosary
…and booze.
Just kidding, not really, maybe. š
Hahaha u took my answer; I just have to add our sacrament of confession š
It is a challenge, isn't it?!? The teen parenting/homeschooling has gotten a bit easier each year. Time and more time has been the greatest help. Sometimes I am tempted to give in and up, but the strength to persevere always shows up in unexpected places…grace! What would I do without grace? Anyway, blogging and reading blogs has had to be put on the back burner. School just takes so much out of me right now, that there isn't much left for extra thought or free-writing.
I will say that a helpful tool for me has been knowing my children's learning styles and temperament (and also my own). There are great Catholic books on temperament by the Bennett's and Mercy Academy has an online learning style assessment for a fee.