• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Hire a Moxie-Writer
  • Speaking
  • Contact
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Books
  • Single Moms with Moxie podcast

Moxie-Dude

Life updates gone wrong. Or right. I'm undecided.

  • #KitchenFails
  • Writing
  • Teenagers
  • Hamster Ramblings
  • Aging and its niceties
  • Shared Thoughts
You are here: Home / Kids / 3 Myths about raising teenagers

3 Myths about raising teenagers

July 21, 2011 by Mona Andrei 2 Comments

Attitude with a capital "A"

Before I get to the point of this post let me just say this: OMG CAN IT GET ANY HOTTER?!!!

It’s so hot that I can’t even muster up the energy to put on a little mascara – never mind blow dry my hair.

And as it turns out I must really look like crap because a homeless-heroine-addict-type looking person hit on me when I went to pick up my daughter – the one with the baby – the one that made me a GRANDMOTHER! – to take her to her doctor’s appointment this morning.

So yeah. My self-esteem is on the polar opposite end of that thermometer that’s telling us how hot it is right now.

And speaking of my daughter becoming a mother, I was thinking about the words of wisdom I received from an older adult when my first daughter was born (many, many moons ago):

“The first ten years are the easiest.”

I didn’t believe her at the time. I was sure that the teenage attitude crap I had personally bestowed upon my own parents would not be returned to me. Not because I thought I would be a better parent, but because I lived in a bubble. And in this bubble everything was perfect. Including my imagined future.

Today, I would love the opportunity to go back in time and slap my naïve self upside the head.

WHACK!

Young me: OUCH! What was that for?

Older me: For being so STUPID.

And even though I’m a, er, GRANDMOTHER now, I still have both feet planted in that phase of my life where I’m raising my own kids.

With my two youngest having turned 12 and 13 last month we are way past “the first ten years”.

That’s right. I’m not only a grandmother but a mother to a couple of TWEEN-AGERS.

With part of me feeling old and wise and the other part feeling over-whelmed and over-whelmed (no, I did not just stutter there), I’m in the mood to share a short course in REALITY for all of you young moms.

Myth #1

Having been a teenager once yourself makes raising teenagers easy peasy because it helps you understand them.

Truth to Myth #1

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! Unless if you remain a teenager yourself, you will not be on the same wave length as your teenager. I don’t care how cool you are, you’re not supposed to be your kid’s friend. There are other teenagers out there to fill that position. Your role is to be a parent. Also known as an ADULT who knows better, thanks to life experiences. And we all know what the word “experiences” REALLY means.

Myth #2

After 12 years of raising a child, you will know and understand them and even have control over their “teenage tendencies”.

Truth to Myth #2

No matter how much time you spend with your kids and how well you know them, the hormones will come along and fuck them up. And fuck up your household. That’s what hormones do. And they do come. Oh yes they do. There’s no avoiding the hormones that will render your teenager illogical, irrational, and sometimes even a know-it-all ass-hole. (Yup. I said it.)

Myth #3

Telling children every day for 12 years to brush their teeth, comb their hair and put on clean underwear ensures that they will REMEMBER on their own by the time they reach 13.

Truth to Myth #3

Personal hygiene does not come naturally and you will probably have to remind them until one of their peers – another teenager – makes a comment about their body odour and embarrasses them. No matter how much you want to protect your teenagers from being hurt or offended, sometimes hearing it from their friends has a stronger impact. Sorry.

And why am I telling you this?

Because the first ten years really are the easiest.

Share with your followersShare on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on email
Email
Share on stumbleupon
Stumbleupon
Share on buffer
Buffer
Share on diggit
Diggit
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on reddit
Reddit
Share on tumblr
Tumblr

Filed Under: Kids, Random

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. aunt vicky says

    July 21, 2011 at 3:11 pm

    Congrats Mona on becoming a NIKA and Monique on becoming A Great NIKA
    Love reading your moxie blogs
    Later dudette t/v

    Reply
    • Mona Andrei says

      July 27, 2011 at 7:56 pm

      Thanks so much Auntie Vicky! Great to hear from you!!!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

A book for single mothers? BOOYAH!

Buzz

“Mona’s ability to mix humor with insight is truly admirable.”
Holly Monteith, Cynren Press






Subscribe!

Enter your email address:
Loading

Recent Posts

  • Dear Single Moms: The ceiling may not have the answers, but I do!
  • Sorry, I can’t come to the phone right now. My self-doubt is acting up.
  • The Sisterhood of Single Moms: Because Keeping our Sanity Takes a Village (and a lot of wine)
  • 10 Reasons Why Single Moms Are Superheroes (And Don’t Even Know It!)
  • The truth about why we feel crappy and 4 steps to feeling less crappy

Recent Comments

  • Diane on Dear Single Moms: The ceiling may not have the answers, but I do!
  • Diane on Sorry, I can’t come to the phone right now. My self-doubt is acting up.
  • Diane on The Sisterhood of Single Moms: Because Keeping our Sanity Takes a Village (and a lot of wine)
  • Susan McCorkindale on The truth about why we feel crappy and 4 steps to feeling less crappy
  • Diane on The truth about why we feel crappy and 4 steps to feeling less crappy

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • July 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • July 2010
  • May 2010

Categories

  • #KitchenFails
  • Aging and its niceties
  • Boyfriend stories
  • Dating
  • Friday Funny
  • Guest post
  • Hamster Ramblings
  • Kids
  • Memory Lane
  • mom adventures
  • Non-travelling Adventures
  • Out & about – because Montreal is contagious
  • Out & About in Montreal
  • Pretending to be a grown-up
  • Raising teenagers
  • Random
  • Shared Thoughts
  • Single moms
  • Solutions to world problems
  • Sponsored Post
  • Technology (sort of)
  • That effin hamster
  • Travelling Adventures
  • Uncategorized
  • Weekly Wrap-up
  • Wordless Wednesday
  • Writing

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

© 2023 · Moxie-Dude · webmaster