In praise of teenagers!

[LaceandChintz]

I know a lot of people struggle with their teenagers. Many of those who have yet to reach that stage worry about it. So this thread is to give a bit of praise to an often maligned group.
Please feel free to add any little gem
I am temporarily working different hours so now get in after days for the first time ever. He texted me to say, let me know when you're 5 minutes away so I can get the kettle on
I'm very very happy. He's 14.

The cups of tea are great.

We watch comedy shows together and bbc4 Friday night programmes about old pop groups. A big improvement on Thomas the Tank!

BelletheSheepdog yy to watching old music stuff on BBC4!

And my OP should have said ds not days

My teen dd is (at times) rude, ungrateful, selfish and obviously, always right. She is also funny, hardworking, great company, kind and fills my heart with pride.
I have approached the teen years with my mind very much in the past, always trying to remember the highs and lows of my own teenage years, it helps!

My older 2 are 17 and 15. They can be lazy and ungrateful, but they are great company and really funny! And they can bring in washing, and Ds1 can reach things on high shelves

I haven't reached the teen years yet but when I was pregnant (and alarmingly huge) with my twins I regularly had random teenagers offer up help carry my groceries to the car for me or offer an arm going down steep flights of stairs in the station.

Later with a double buggy it was always teenagers that held doors for me and helped lift the buggy up steps or on and off trains.

"Proper" adults used to walk past leaving me to struggle, while the grubby, headphone wearing teenagers always stopped to lend a hand.

My DD makes me a coffee every day when I get home and is always happy to do any job I ask. She has introduced me to j rock, cosplay and anime and generally makes my life fun.

These are lovely to hear. My 2 have moments of "typical" teenage behaviour but on the whole are great. And yes, really funny. When they are in the right mood, there is nothing more entertaining than their relationship!
When I was pregnant for the first time, 20 years ago, I chatted to my mum about all that was ahead and asked her what her favourite age (of us) was. She said she loved being the parent of teenagers and I now understand that completely. And agree.

My son is very keen on cooking, and will often text me at work to tell me he's cooking for us that evening, or stake a claim for the following night. He makes cups of tea for when I get in from work, and has a great sense of humour so even on a crap day he tries to make me smile. He's thoughtful and caring, and loves playing with his little nephew.

Don't get me wrong, he eats us out of house and home, leaves pants and socks in a trail from the bathroom to his bedroom, constantly requests money for football subs or the pub, and can be stroppy and argumentative, but I really think I am lucky.

My DD also asked me to text before I got home she'd make me tea, actually was just a warning to get boyfriend out before I got home 🙄 (I forgot to text !).

My 15yo DS makes me laugh my head off, he can be hilarious with just random stuff. We go to the movies a lot and talk about films, and talk about big life stuff, a friend of his Mum died recently so we talked a lot about grief and surviving. He's so caring and protective of his younger bro, and always watches his football/cricket/rugby games and vice versa. He always gets me a fridge magnet/reminds me to buy one where ever we are because he knows I like them. He's got a temper and can blow when you least expect it, but once he's got it all off his chest, he's great. He can't seem to pick up wet towels and eats with his mouth opens at times, but there are much worse things to loose your shit about in life.

I do think they get a 'bad rep' as a group, it's nice to see a thread that champions them.

What a lovely thread :) My DD who has all the teenage traits that make life intresting, isn't tactile and is very reserved blew me away this week. After getting paid from her first part time job she gave me a voucher to get my hair cut. She knew that money is really tight for us and I think I'd been moaning about needing a haircut. One of those moment that reduced me to tears, so proud of her.