Teenage boys are great

[CrocsNotDocs]

They just are. They are like enormous Labrador puppies with gangly uncoordinated bodies and huge feet.

I love watching my son and his mates interact. They have this innate sense of fairness and decency and half the time they are little boys and the other half, something caught between boys and men. If you can surreptitiously listen to them, they will be big noting, exaggerating and bullshitting about all the great dangerous and fantastic things they will be doing until one of them looks at his enormous feet and reminds the others that they will have to ask their mum before partaking in whatever grand endeavour they have planned . Silence will follow in deference to the higher authority.

They smell and are kind and can lift incredibly heavy things. Their jokes are stupid and glorious and they laugh so loud. I love how their shoulders broaden overnight and they get hairy and awkward. I love how they are terrified of girls and then suddenly they aren’t.

They get a bad rap but the ones I know are just fab.

I am really surprised at all the puppy/labrador/empathy comments - my teens are ok but absolutely nothing like that.
I find the teen years quite stressful, vaping/smoking/drinking/drugs are common where I live, so helping them navigate that is an ever changing thing.

I guess reading about other people's lovely teens makes me feel a little envious but when I look objectively at mine, they are doing ok out in the world, have lots of friends (not all of whom I like) and I am hopeful they will launch as young adults. They were wonderful toddlers/little children, so I am hoping once these years pass they will be wonderful adults as well.

💯 agree 💙

I have this strange contrast between work and home life. Work life involves working with teenagers who have committed offences and there is loads of grunting and life just being thrown down the drain. Then I get home and have these strong, caring, chatterbox teenage boys. Such strong sense of right and wrong, so perceptive, great jawlines too!!!

My 13 year old veers from strop to affection in 0.5 seconds!
Every night he comes into my bedroom and flings himself on my bed and climbs up for a cuddle. He’s ace.

My DS is 17 and still has a loud, high pitched squeal and laugh!

He tried to take his life recently and the way all his friends rallied (teen boys and girls) was beautiful.

What a wonderful thread, nice one OP.

Ha, I love the description of how they all sit and give it the big I. Am with each other before one of them mentions having to check with their mum 😂

Absolutely the case here too. Ds1 is 16 so his friends are all 16/17 and doing A Levels. I internally chuckle every time I'm standing next to a 6ft 3, bearded 17 year old who says so politely 'thank you for having me for dinner, I'll check with mum if I'm allowed to come on Friday' or similar 😂

I have teenage nephews - see them at this time of year more than any other time and it’s great.

Totally agree. My 15 year old is the light of our lives and has some lovely friends too.
(Have to caveat that some of the other boys at school are not so great, but I guess that’s representative of all of humanity!)

I agree and think they keep
Me young and in touch with modern life, so different to when I was a teenager , they are mostly fun and I love watching them grow up into the young men that they are going to be one day

The best bit of Gavin and Stacey last night was as Neil the Baby was leaving and Nessa said 'He's lush' .. Feel exactly the same about my DS. Great in so many ways 😍

Yip, adore mine

Mine is 17 and (mostly) an absolute joy. We had a fairly low-key day yesterday, but he scooped me up in a huge hug as I was going to bed and said 'Thank you - it's been brilliant.' He has a lovely bunch of friends too - it's like being descended on by a pack of oversized Labrador puppies.

Fab thread thanks OP. Think mine is half Labrador half cat. He got a new gaming chair but was almost as excited about the giant box it came in! 🤦🏻‍♀️. I absolutely adore him, he is just an awesome human and was excessively pleased when I told him his top lip hair was looking darker yesterday!

We went on holiday with DS's teen cousins this year and they are all lovely lads

Before I read the whole thread, you have really brought a smile to my face. DS16 brought 10 friends on holiday with us this year (long story) and it was EXACTLY as you say.

We are in full boy teendom with 18, 17 and nearly 14.

Reading this with my 4 week old baby boy asleep on my chest 🩵

@wizzywig what do you think helps/ is the difference between having a lovely teen or a difficult one?

Finally a positive post, thank you! I am a boy mum and can’t wait until my beloved grows into a lovely, kind man like his father. Thanks OP!

My ds is only 2 but already I refer to him as a Labrador pup, he is so gorgeously uncomplicated, easy to be around and just not that hard to parent (at the moment - very aware he is only 2!)

my older dd is infinitely harder and more difficult to parent. She’s hard work to be around. Everything is a battle. I dread to think how she is going to turn out as a teenager.

What a truly heart warming thread. Thank you so much OP. And I concur - they really are fabulous!

I agree! I have 3 of them and they are brilliant fun & very kind & helpful although they drive me to distraction with their inability to plan things and the amount of food they get through.

So sorry you and your son had to go through this @UndertheCedartree . I hope he is doing much better now.💐

Lovely thread. I recognise my teen (and his mates) in the comments. He is 17 now; tall, skinny and constantly eating. We also have a Labrador and the whole family comment on how similar they are they - both are food and ball games obsessed with kind, gentle natures.

Another one that has really stuck with me.

A little Y7 kid was relocated to our school because he was being moved well away from where he grew up for safety reasons.

He'd been neglected at home, and ran feral with a bunch of teens in his home city, because he was small enough to put through a window when burgling houses.

He didn't know how to socialise with boys his own age, he only wanted to hang around with the boys in sixth form, our friends.

They took him on, played with him every lunch break, gave him jobs to do, and taught him how to behave. They even helped him make friends with younger kids.

He could be really hard work, but they were really patient with him. It was lovely.