2 Teen boys - Lonely parent

[Sque21]

I have 2 teen boys 14 & 16 and they are pretty good most of the time but obviously normal teenage antics, and I have the usual worries.

I feel like I’ve nobody to talk to in these teenage years as I protect their journey to adulthood. I just feel like a can’t tell friends or family about anything they do wrong because I don’t want them to be judged. But that has left me feeling really alone.

I have a group of friends with kids same age and they talk quite freely and we support eachother but I always hold back. My sisters kids are younger so she doesn’t get it and she has a much stricter parenting style than me. I usually tell her everything but don’t anymore. I don’t even feel I need advice but more a place to vent.

As I write this I’m wondering is it me that’s the problem! lol Am I the only one who’s finding this teen stage lonely in a crowd?

I know what you mean. I have a ds who is 15.

At that age the stunts they pull are no longer cute, as they were when toddlers, and they are of an age that they are very sensitive about what other people think of them, so I don't want to share with anyone who knows them, because it feels like a betrayal.

It's a balancing act. I have the advantage of working with people who live hundreds of miles away and will never meet ds, one of whom is a mum with younger dcs, so we talk about children sometimes at lunchtime.

That is exactly it no longer cute and funny. More like shocking and traumatising. 😂

Yes actually I do talk to people in work sometimes….the advantage of working globally….there is zero chance of meeting.

Are you on facebook?

I saw this group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/390219902008292/

Thanks I’ve just joined. I did look at a few FB groups but didn’t join cause thought they might freak me out. But because you put the link I just did it. Sure if it doesn’t suit me I can leave. Thanks so much for encouraging me 😀

Hope it may help you.

I saw this on Mumsnet, I don't know if you have seen it.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/teenagers/4910229-just-a-friendly-hand-hold-for-any-other-mums-of-teens-part-2

Being a mum of teenagers can be so difficult. I don't have experience of boys, I know my friend had a hard time.
I have experience of girls, so very difficult!

This is it! This is exactly the thread I needed! Thanks!!!!

Yes, please come and join us! That's the best thread on this site. I will never meet any of you in real life, but I know I can share the frustrations (and occasional joys) of parenting my teen.

I'm on that thread (maybe under a different name!) and have just joined that Facebook group. It takes more than a village to raise a teenager!

@Sque21

I’ve just come across your thread, and it really reasonates with me. I think as a lone female I often feel unable to talk about my children’s behaviour because the assumption is made that they are difficult due to failing in the home and lack of a father figure.

friends with 2 boys seem to have a different time and can talk much more freely because there is no judgement, just sympathy.