Benefits of having teen boys

[MrBirling]

Does anyone else love having teenage sons. I am lucky enough to have two and they're so bloody useful. In the garden I put them to work lifting heavy stuff. We collected a car load of soil the other day and it took so little time to fill up the bags. Pop into b&q and all the heavy stuff gets loaded up. Last year we dismantled a shed which DH and I would never have managed alone.

Anyone else find them useful to have around despite the cost of food and the nagging to get homework done.

Three boys, all lovely kind men now. I still get hugs. Two are married with children and are good husbands and fathers. They've become handymen, gardeners like their father. We're very close. Husband gets a bit jealous of our relationship at times but I ignore that.

The hardest part of raising them was homework and revision for exams. There they and their father did knock heads. I had to mediate at times.

I do adore my sassy grand daughters but don't envy their parents 😄

My two were fence painting but did a half arsed job so DH had to finish it🤨

I love this thread too-and I adore my own adult son. But there is no man hatred on Mumsnet- there is “behaviour hatred”. These lovely young men did not get to be the way they are automatically-we brought them up to be like that.

It’s all about food too.

They love their mamma’s cooking. The fridge gazing and the midnight feasts. The drawers being opened in the freezer when I am in bed. I love to hear it.

Even though mine are teens and at one at Uni, I still buy them sweets and put them under their pillow so they lie down and go “what’s that sticking in me” and it’s a big bar of Toblerone 😘

They both have teddies and they sleep with them 🧸

So much toxic masculinity in the news, and the good stuff is missed. There are some great boys out there.

My youngest got bulled by 9 classmates for being “fat and ugly” ( by girls mainly) when he was in year 5. It massively knocked his confidence. Now at 15 he’s fit, toned, tall, dark and handsome and I tell him he’s bloody gorgeous every day.

Mums, raise your boys with good food, lots of sleep and burn off those beans. Find them a hobby/ interest to keep doing from a young age. Give them loads of love. Keep them busy. Make sure they are kind to others and respect women. You’ll then have a lovely man to cherish.

P.s. I love my son’s girlfriends too. Please give me lots of grandbabies.

This is such a lovely thread, makes me slightly sad I didn’t have a boy along with my dds. Dd1 would have liked a big brother.

Agree with this . All you Mums of lovely teenage boys, you’ve put the time, love, work, and support in, year after year, to bring up kind and affectionate young men like these.

Agree. I found this thread so beautifully refreshing.

I adore my 15yo too. He's not the best at chores, tho will do them when asked (a few times), and is supremely impractical, but he's smart, funny and incredibly knowledgeable about the world.

He's also a walking public transport encyclopaedia, and is full of wonder and interest in the world, making him a great travelling companion.

I often well up just thinking about the fact that one day he won't live with me any more.

My two boys are adults now. They were terrible sleepers as babies but after that they were easy. No hassles over homework, did their own washing from aged 12. Big gap between them so not much in common till youngest hit 18 and they could go to the pub. Now good mates and support each other. Our two young grandsons on the otherhand are a handful, but funny fortunately!

My 2 are also complete sweethearts, a joy, no trouble at all xx

Yes I do

Yes he can be moody and mumble at times and rude but more often he is very funny its not always intentional and when he is with his friends they are so (unintentionally) entertaining. They are so passionate about whatever they are championing at the time. Playing at being adults but not quite getting it right. Its a joy to see and be part of (on the side lines)

Mine is currently being talked at by a woman swigging Prosecco on a train (it's 11.42am) and is being very patient and chatty.

Are you the lady swigging prosecco? We won't judge 😆

I don't think mine read the manual.

He's more feral cat than boy: aloof, disdainful, only comes out of his room when he thinks there's no one around. Will do allocated chores though, and likes to talk about history, films and politics. Strong sense of right and wrong, but not if it inconveniences him. Hasn't intentionally touched another person since he was about 10. Only likes music no one else likes.

He's me as a teenager, but without the sneaking into nightclubs and getting pissed.

@Leafcrackle that's funny you should say that because I always think mine has labrador 'spirt animal' energy. Big, sandy hair, and a wide smile.

Mine is so lovely; he promised me as a small child that he'd not be a nightmare teenager and at 17 he's still wonderful!

He even hugged me, voluntarily, in front of his 6th form peers and teachers the other day! 😍

It is a bit amazing how physically nothing is anything to them.
13yo jogged up to his mates house then forgot something so loped back then back up again…. 20 min walk each way, then they came back to mine after a bit to collect a basketball, wandered down to basket ball
court for a few hours, half ran back to find me not there so then slow jogged to where I was on the tracking app as in his words “you’d been stood still a long time and I thought you might have fallen over”
He’d walked/run about 6/7 miles plus couple of hours playing basketball and it was like nothing. He didn’t even notice. Blows my mind how fit and at home in his body he seems to be.

Mine said he'd marry me when he grew up. My grandson said the same thing to his mum. Boys are marshmallows

They do say the best things. When mine was about 3ish, he said I looked like the lady on the TV. It was Cheryl Cole.

I do not look anything like the beautiful Cheryl Cole, but I appreciated the sentiment. No one since has told me I look like Cheryl and the perimenopausal weight gain hasn't helped, but I live in hope.😂

My DS1 is 13 and is ace. Still get loads of cuddles and told "I love you" daily.

I work in his school and he brings his friends to chill out in my office (and raid my chocolate collection). I try and troll him a lot but he doesn't get embarrassed, an eye roll is as far as he goes. Generally a lazy bugger though and detentions for "calculated idleness" are typical.

He's calm and level headed and fiercely devoted to his younger siblings. DD is very ill and he has been carrying her to bed and making sure she has everything. I hope he continues like this and becomes the amazing capable man he can be.

I have two sons, both adults now but were really lovely teens. That said I have a lovely teen DD, though nope, can’t get her to do the heavy lifting! I usually have to open everything for her!

You just described my DD!!
I always say that DD is a beautiful aloof Persian cat and DS is a Golden Retriever!

A lot teen boys are lovely. My DH worked with a bunch of them when he worked in a local shop and he had nothing but great things to say about them. They were polite and helpful, one of them even saved someone's life because he had picked up CPR from somewhere.

I hope to raise my DDs to be like that.

Yep, mine is 16 next week, 6 foot tall and gives the best bear hugs. He's unfailingly kind, has a dry, sharp witty humour which creases me regularly and this morning has helped me load and unload at the tip, been to the supermarket with me and is cooking (ahem) pizzas later. Always up for a hug, tells his family he loves them. He's a proper good egg.

Yes we are battling the dreaded GCSE revision but to be fair to the kid he's also volunteered every weekend for 2 years, all weathers and has an ability to deal with people and conflict which is way, way beyond his years. He will be just fine because he's a good person who works hard and gets on with others.

I have two sons, one of 29 and one of 17 and they are wonderful. The eldest was a bit of a trial growing up, tbh, but once he hit A level years it all changed.

They lift the heavy things, they still love to come on holidays with me, they're funny, loving, protective and my biggest supporters (apart from DP). And we have the best conversations.

Plus DS1's girlfriend is just lovely too- she fits right in. The daughter I would have been proud to have. I'm very lucky.