Posted by stressed on October 9, 2004, at 20:40:02
In reply to Teenagers versus younger children, posted by antigua on October 9, 2004, at 13:21:35
Ok, I am a mother of a 12 yr. old boy, and a 16 yr.old girl. Let me tell you........yes, older are more difficult, but let me tell you why I think that way. My children are by no means perfect, and as they get older, they take less attention as far as personaly taking care of their needs. Emotionaly it gets tougher. My son hasn't gotten into the teen years yet, so things are very easy for concerning him. My daughter (16) is emotional, has a binge eating disorder, and is stressing us out more than I ever emagined. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be this stressfull. There are many more things to worry about, and so far we don't have drugs or drinking. I am a controlling person, ( I told my buddies about that on the medical page) and when the teens start being more independent, they do WHAT THEY WANT whenever you are not around. You must be sure you teach them good values and how to make a discision based on reality. (What is the best thing to do in the situation you are in at this moment) Peer pressure is really strong, and more and more kids are engaging in sex, drinking, durgs than you can emagine. When my daughter tells me the things her friends do, it floors me. Several of my friends have had some hard times with their teens, and I don't know how they made it through without a breakdown. (well, some took SSRI's) We have two more years until she is in college, and so far, so good. I don't know what the future holds for our 12 yr. old, but I hope we are doing a decent job. We will find out. Looking back, the younger years were precious, and I would love to do it over again. I would correct MANY mistakes I made as a mother. Good luck, and enjoy every moment. The years fly. -L
poster:stressed
thread:400740
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/relate/20040917/msgs/400950.html