Unbelievably I am quite enjoying having teenagers

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I have two dc 13 and 16. At the present moment there are 6 teenagers in my living room. I am in my office which is a room in the house and I can hear every word they are saying. The other 4 kids live in the next streets to us.

There has been some fantastic negotiations regarding swopping/loaning x-box games

There has been an in depth discussion on the best popcorn flavour

There has been discussions on why their birthday is memorable, ie one is on Valentines day and one is on St Patricks day. The other 4 have boring birthdays apparently

There has not been one swear word, but every second word is that something or other sucks

And the most shocking one of all - they have all been here a couple of hours now and I offered them something to eat. Not one of them was hungry The only conclusion I can come to for that is that I must be a really awful cook

[WhoreGasm]

We had hormonal storms all through the Autumn last year but I can't blame DD as I know I was exactly the same (but worse apparently according to my Mum). I suspect my Mum privately relished witnessing DD stamp upstairs, slam her door and throw herself across her bed in floods of tears and me looking dazed and confused going 'I only asked if she wanted fish for tea?'

But she seems to have really settled calmed down since the spring thank God We get some grumpiness the day before she's due but otherwise she's back to being Little Miss Sunshine again.

[DurhamDurham]

My two girls are 22 and 18 now, they have been a delight....except from their 14th year when I honestly thought I must have gone badly wrong somewhere. They both went from being polite, hardworking and funny girls into awful, horrible, moaning, lazy individuals,. And that was on a good day.

However we got through those days and by the time they were 14 they were lovely again and have been ever since. Yes they are messy and they eat the entire contents of the fridge, they make a noise when they get back home in the middle of the night with their friends after a night out but I firmly believe if you leave your battles for the big things (personal safety, education, working, relationships) then the rest of it is easy.

We get on so well now, we often go out for coffee and cake to have a catch up, its usually their idea. It sounds silly but when I get a text from one of them to ask if I want to meet up after work for a coffee ( and they're paying ) it makes my day and proud to think that we must have dome something right for them to turn out as well as they have. Or just really lucky.

My oldest one is in USA for three months working in a summer camp so we are all missing her but she sounds like she is having a great time. It's good to know she has enough confidence to go away and do that.

[TheWordFactory]

I love having teens, but then mine are easy ones.

I like their mates too (or most of them). The boys all seem terribly easy going (yes, I'll eat that, yes, I'll go there, yes, I'm okay, thanks). The girls are all balls of energy and excitement (oh we're going to see Ed Sheeran, squeeeee, oh Tilly has a new hair cut, squeeeee, oh I can't wait for sixth form, squeeeeee).

Obvs, they're untidy, eat too much and spend too much time on screens...but these are small issues, no?

[WhoreGasm]

word I think the messiness, excessive screen time and locust-like attacks on the fridge are just a given. But so long as DD stays sunny natured and (fairly) polite I'm happy to grit my teeth ignore them.

[GoodbyeToAllOfThat]

My oldest is just on the cusp of teenagerdom (13 in September) and he is so angsty I'm finding it really hard work. I hope it gets easier.

[Postchildrenpregranny]

I really missed having teenagers round the place when mine left home
I loved the teenage years (apart from worries round exams) .Mine never seemed to exhibit some of the unpleasant attitudes and behaviour mentioned on MN - we set clear boundaries,had reasonably liberal attitude to lots of things,friends always welcome, sat down as a family every night over dinner and talked .Don't mean to sound smug ,but we have a really god relationship with our now adult children .It is possible

[Lancelottie]

I have three and they are... variable.

But yesterday the oldest (off to university, I hope, in September) wombled into the kitchen and said 'Ermm, thanks for bringing me up and being, you know, mostly nice and stuff.'

[ninetynineonehundred]

I love all the teenages around here.

One told a bunch of others off for swearing in front of the baby, and they apologised.
A group of girls lifted miss tantrum toddler into the house yesterday when my back couldn't manage it.

All lovely

[fishboneschokus]

Just about to rtft but have to boast.
My dd18 and 8 friends rented a cottage on the coast after a levels.
The owner wrote a review of them saying how worried they were renting to a teenage gang but they were average; couple of broken glasses. Dd said that someone came to tend to the small garden each day; it was obvious that they were being watched. :)

[nicoleshitzinger]

"we set clear boundaries,had reasonably liberal attitude to lots of things,friends always welcome, sat down as a family every night over dinner and talked .Don't mean to sound smug ,but we have a really god relationship with our now adult children .It is possible"

Sorry to burst your bubble, but so did we. ALL OF THESE THINGS. And our teen rode right through our boundaries over and over again and went off the rails.

When I see posts like yours I feel the same way as I do when I see people boasting that their baby sleeps through the night and is unusually settled as a result of them following structured routines.

All children are different.

Some will be really difficult babies, some will be toddlers who run their parents ragged, and some will have an awful adolescence, regardless of how they're parented.

[fishboneschokus]

But the vagueness!
Mobile phones mean that they are unable to plan. Or consider need to purchase food.
Quite a fun age to supply ingredients, recipe and leave them to it.

[AbsentMindedNumpty]

I had to smile when reading the name of this thread. I thought it was just me who had wonderful teenage years. I loved having my teens friends around; they were (and still are) pleasant, polite and great fun. I am still waiting for the terrible teens but guess it's too late now as they are 20 and 21. It's been good reading other MNers tales.

[smellylittleorange]

Teenagers get a bad press - when I think back to it neither me or my sisters were "bad teenagers" so why do we iinsist on tarring every teen with the same brush. I am just as guilty - went to a festival the other weekend which has a infamous for attracting lot of post 16 teens celebrating finishing GCSEs / A levels etc ..in the main they were delightful and more chilled population than at some other festivals I have been to. DH was particularly chuffed when two called him a "cool Dad" - they thought he looked lost and had taken DD to festival on her own ;-D. I loved watching them and how they interacted and danced made me wish I was 16 again

[WhoreGasm]

No not quite into her teens but on the brink. We've certainly had the hormonal storms though so hoping the worst has passed.

My Mum (not known for her compliments to say the least) reports I was an easy going teen after the initial hormonal storms, so fingers crossed it looks like DD is heading the same way crosses fingers extra tight

[fishboneschokus]

Well said, Nicole.

[WhoreGasm]

Does a handful of months make an actual difference then? Other posters on here have mentioned their hormonal 11 and 12 year olds too.

DD is post pubescent most definitely and we've had the hormones all over the place. Other poster's DC are into their teens with nary a hormone in sight yet.

So really I don't think the actual exact chronological age is as pertinent as whether their hormones have kicked in yet and they've gone through puberty yet.

DD went through puberty just past her 10th birthday. She was much taller than her teacher when she was still in Yr 4. She is very tall and easily looks 16 even without a touch of make up [sigh]

[TheHormonalHooker]

Oh my days! If I had a 12yo I certainly wouldn't be posting about "getting something very, very right" with my "Little Miss Sunshine" teen DD!

[IHaveBrilloHair]

Your posts on this thread are a tad silly then Whore if you've never actually parented a teen

I'm only a year in, and in lots of ways I enjoy dd much more now, we are very alike, very close and share a sense of humour, we clash horribly at times too, but always make it back.
Nowhere near counting my chickens yet though, lots could change in the next few years

[WhoreGasm]

And I don't think it is all down to parenting either.

My elder DB was a very challenging teen. Shouting, door slamming, deliberately picking fights. He was like this from being 11 when his hormones landed with a vengence.

But I wasn't like it, neither was my other DB. Yet same rules and same parents. Much is down to personality too.

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

I doubt it's all hormones though. Brain development and the stuff they have to deal with - negotiating new freedoms and responsibilities, exam pressure, coping with sexual maturity/first relationships - has to come into it too.