My teenagers are quite nice

[TinfoilTwat]

You don't often hear the positives of living with teenagers. I have to say, mine are pretty decent people.
They work hard, get good grades, volunteer their time to coach their sports in the local primary school. They're funny. They are brave and passionate about life. I genuinely enjoy their company and feel very lucky to live with them.

We are having a very scaled back Christmas this year because we're spending all available money on me doing a course next year. No complaints from them; "Mum, we'll just eat gruel for a year. Do the course. We're proud of you!"

(Disclaimer: Yes, they also play about 64 hours of videogames a day and have a functional blindness that does not allow them to see used cups and plates, and they leave sweet-wrappers in the living room, and have extraordinarily bad haircuts, and steal my shoes, and stay up until 3am if I don't stop them...)

Tell me about your lovely teenagers.

"A pure spark of unadulterated humanity"

Yes, yes, yes. This. There is something very special about teenagers.

Mine is brilliant too. She's 15 and I am very proud of her. Her friends are great, talented, sweet, insightful.
I do voluntary work with teens and they are without exception lovely to be around. They make me laugh and are so genuine and real and amazing.
It does pain me sometimes though all the rubbish they have to deal with!
My SC were (mostly) trouble free too, so I am very grateful all round.

Mine is 13 so there’s still time but he’s utterly delightful. We have great conversations and he’s never said a cross word to me. He’s a grammar school student and ridiculously mature, polite and articulate. He loves to cook and cooks dinner for us most night. He has a girlfriend who is also 13 and exactly the same. She’s here this evening and we had a lovely meal together all of us chatting away. He is also bloody messy though!

I am another secondary school teacher. I have been in the job for a quarter of a century and almost entirely because of the enjoyment I get from being around teenagers. They are hilarious, bloody annoying, rude, obnoxious, vulnerable, so kind, clever, fascinating, idealistic, voluntarily stupid, sometimes involuntarily stupid, lovely, annoying, supportive of each other, insightful, thick as mince, glowing with energy, loyal, daft and just utterly brilliant. Teenagers are ace.

(But not always. Sometimes they are breathtakingly foul. But not often, and only a few of them. But I am glad to give them back at the end of the day.)

18 yo - deep thinking, academically and emotionally intelligent, wise and funny. Hardworking, loves music, films and reading, great cook, sociable and with lovely friends. My favourite person in the world. Downside - the messiest person I have ever met and incredibly grumpy in the morning.

Ahhhh, thank you OP, what a lovely thread. I’m forever wondering how, after an abusive childhood of my
own, I’ve managed to end up with two such bloody amazing teenagers. Maybe I did something right, or maybe I just got very lucky 😁🥰. Both my DDs are thoughtful, hardworking - amazing work ethic actually - kind, empathic and extremely funny. But both quite different from each other. They’re both at Uni at the moment and I miss them, I did wonder how on earth I’d manage to get through without them tbh, but actually I’m loving watching them grow in confidence and experience, it’s bloody amazing. They’re both intelligent, though that’s not the be all and end all, but they’ve both had quite serious issues to overcome (different health and learning difficulties issues) and have done so with such fortitude and grace that I could not be more proud of them. They have also both spent a lot of their spare time volunteering for local charities, which helped them as much as it helped the charities tbh. They’re not perfect, they don’t clean their rooms as much as they probably should, or pick up after themselves when they’re here maybe, but I pick my battles because, well, that’s minor in the scope of things. I can’t wait to see where life takes them next. When I stop to think about it, comparing my early life to what I have now, largely due to these two (and my lovely husband), I have to pinch myself, I can’t believe it.

Mine are absolutely amazing! My 18 year old ds is back today for Christmas from his first term at uni and I am beyond delighted to have him home. He’s funny, kind, clever and my heart feels complete tonight!

My 15 year old has her moments but she is hard working, loving, clever, funny.I feel so lucky to have them both.

My DS (now an adult) was a mainly trouble free teenager, and was kind, funny, smart and great company. He was easier than a teen than as a child to be honest. He was a bit of a slob and his bedroom was a no-go area most of the time though! He met his lovely wife at 17 and they are still happy together as parents at 31.

My DSS is 15 and is an absolute delight, after being seriously hard work from 6 to 10. He's easy going, thoughtful, and quite charming. Also a bit of a slob. Perhaps it's me...

I don't have any teenagers but I just wanted to say this is such a lovely thread. I work with teenagers and they are awesome. I get sick of all the negativity you see about them online or in the news.

I love this. My eldest is only 11 but she's showing all the signs of being a thoroughly decent, if messy, sort.

How nice for you.

There are plenty of parents on here struggling with their ND teens. I'm sure they'll enjoy reading how the other half live.

Then again, comparison is the thief of joy. Just have to keep telling myself that. Even though joyful moments are few and far between.

I am out the other side with a 19 and 23-year-old, but I have to say, our experience of teenage boys was relentlessly positive.

Always good company, never stuck in their rooms, completely domesticated, great cooks and just nice, kind people. I did find the constant expectation of political/social/economic debate quite wearing but now they are both living away from home, I miss it.

Mine are nice too (even though I restrict gaming).
nice friends, hobbies, 2 x kids are academic one isn’t. All enjoyed tree decorating today and then watching a family film.
thry do have their moments though….

Mine were lovely as teenagers (usually). Hardworking, moral, social conscience, kind and good company. I truly believe that as you sow, so shall you reap.

I have 14 yo twins, b/g. They are focused, hard working, and good company. I am actually really enjoying this stage, lots of interesting conversations. DS has his first GF, all very sweet and innocent. It’s all good (apart from the untidyness!!)

Mine are really lovely girls. 17 and 18, biggest one is now at uni.
They were lovely from birth, truly, very easy going and relaxed, slept well, ate well, just quite chilled. We’ve had some hard years with the younger of the 2, she’s found life hard for about 3/4 years now and it’s been very hard on all of us but throughout she’s made us proud and tried hard to overcome things her own way. She seems to be having a better time of it now and it’s a relief.
I do feel really lucky to have them both, polite with nice manners, kind to their younger sibling, get on with people, just nice people who are fun to be around.

You are presuming (wrongly) that my kids are not ND. There is joy to be found in everyone, ND or not.

Mine are 16 and 14. My eldest is at a sleepover in a group where they are all kind and funny girls, won't touch alcohol or drugs and are really supportive of each other. She brought me tea in bed this morning as she knows I've had a nightmare week at work and was knackered. My 14yo is sat next to me and asked to watch titanic with me. She put away the shopping and cooked dinner for us.

I do feel blessed and know others don't have the same experience at all. I just try and make sure their cups are filled (metaphorically) and we laugh together.

I know this may change with alcohol and boys but am treasuring the moments for now.

Oh come on. I came on to say how very refreshing it was reading a positive thread about teenagers - and you're saying people need to keep shtum in case they hurt the feelings of parents who don't feel the same way? Doesn't that make the whole point of a site like this - well - pointless? If nobody can post anything in case they upset someone in a different situation??

Thank you OP for this thread. I have a DS and though of course he has his moments, he's a joy. We still go for little walks in the evening to have a chat about stuff.

Yep. Have two utterly adorable teenagers. I don’t recognise the descriptions of teenagers on MN. Am I incredibly lucky? No door slamming, no shouting, hard working and kind.

I ❤️ them so much.

I've got two at either end of the teenager years - almost 14 and 19.

Both pretty lovely as it goes. I get a lot of comments about DS1, about how proud I should be as he's such a great lad etc. Actually really lovely to hear as he was an utter sod as a young child

DS2 is a nice chap, I reckon he'll continue that way..

Mine are gorgeous. 15 year old, always available for hugs, ambitious, funny, volunteers at park run each week, a good friend. 13 year old, comes and seeks me out during the day at weekends to show me something funny he has seen, always tells me about his day at school, works hard. Both tell me and their dad they love us each day.

To be honest, all their friends are the same so they are not unusual. Teens get a bad rap.

@TinfoilTwat So bloody lovely to read. Well done on raising what sounds like a great family and good luck for your course. So great they are supporting you in that too.

I have a 14 yr old and I think she's fantastic, she's taking food tech for GCSE and has just cooked us Saturday tea with a pudding, it was bloody lovely too.

We had a good singalong in the car yesterday and tbh she's a joy to be around.

Honestly while not always perfect my ND teen is a joy. He is growing in maturity, really working on sorting out pacing his school work and keeping his cool.
He is warm and loving, wouldn't swap him.

His twin can have her moments but is funny, clever and nice to hang out with.