I have 2 wonderful daughters but they are very different.
The eldest (17) is very shy in public and hates any attention on her. She has struggled with anxiety and I spend a lot of time with her talking through things and trying to give her more confidence and self esteem. She has nice friends but they will soon be off leading their own lives. She is a lovely person but very reserved when trying new experiences but bored when she doesn’t do anything new. I probably get frustrated with her more than I should as her challenges affect her sister and this causes conflict.
My youngest (15) is just finding her feet and wanting to see the world and experience life. She gets short tempered with her sister, which I understand, and I feel I neglect her needs sometimes. She is also going through the challenges of being a teenager but I find she pushes me away and is frustrated by my efforts.
As a single parent I’m always trying to juggle the needs of both girls but I rarely feel
I get it right. I spend sleepless nights worrying how they will grow and how I can support them best without favouring the needs of one over the other.
I knew parenting teens would be really hard but I don’t feel I have the skills. They are growing up so differently, and I suppose this is where they start to separate. But at the moment we do everything as a team and that’s where the conflict happens.
Can anyone offer advice or been through similar. Is this just normal teen parenting?