Love my son; great relationship.

But MAN can he be a selfish and entitled little fuck sometimes.

TO ADD:
Yet I am so grateful that he is not the teenager that I was. If my parents did not “hate” me, they probably should have. I literally joined the Marine Corps because I was such a pain in the ass at home, I needed to do something to redeem myself.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ronin1069,

I love my 16 year old son too. He's usually a very good kid. Respectful and polite to others...

He can sure test me though. He doesn't do it often...

16 year old granddaughters can be a bit of a challenge too.

My 2 sons are 11 & 10.
The 11 YO can be a challenge. Not looking forward to the next few years, attitude wise... Especially if he is anything like his father.

I’ve got two teenager daughters myself. There’s a reason why they were married off by the age of 14 in antiquity. When you live in a one-room mud hut…you’ve got to get them out of there if you want to have any chance of living to see 40. Dowry anyone?

Love my kids, but holy crap.

Mine are moving into adulthood but I remember the teenage years.


I used to describe it as, they burn down all the goodwill they built up while they were innocent.

It’s natures way of getting them to leave the nest, and for the parents to desire likewise.

I agree wholeheartedly.
I have unconditional love for my daughter. To me that means the door will always remain unlocked between us if she chooses to go through it. Even though she's hurt me more than any other human is capable of.

Our 18 y/o Son graduates early June. He’s supposed to go in the Coast Guard early August. He good overall, I think it will do him well though.

I still hope my two stepdaughters have kids that
act just like they did when they're teenagers.

I have a step-son who is 57, going on 14.

His younger brother, on the other hand is a real mensch.

My son is 34 years old with a wife, an 11yo son, and a 9yo daughter. Our current relationship makes all of the teenage years of crap worth it.

Hang in there, eventually, it is worth not drowning the little bastards.

Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you for helping me remember that I am not alone!

I have three boys a little older than yours. If you haven't already you will soon become the dumdest person in the world. Don't worry, you will start regaining IQ points as they age. Earlier this week one of my sons called just to talk, something he never would have done before. During the conversation he told me how he hated me when he was in high school, and then he thanked me! He said he sees the effects of people whose parents wanted to be their best friends. Take it all in.


Jim

Others make good points… Getting to know them as adults is a joy. Having them understand you as adults, even better.

I work for some neuroradiologists. One of them verified that boys brains don't fully fuse until mid 20's. I suggested in some instances maybe later......

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
Getting to know them as adults is a joy.

My son is great, always was, but he did go through a period of being a dick at times, ages 16-20 yo; focusing on his friends, his little world that his mom and I had less and less to do with (never got in real trouble). We were just parental units at that point. But in the middle of his college years, he changed, a lightbulb went off in his head; he really focused on his family. He appreciated all of the things we did for him, extremely thankful for not just the material things and money, but the upbringing and love.

He graduated last year and now has a great career job, living on his own with his girlfriend. Not only is he my son, but he is a buddy, someone I can have a beer with and shoot the shit. If he wasn't my son, he would still make a great friend.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
I work for some neuroradiologists. One of them verified that boys brains don't fully fuse until mid 20's.

It's all adolescents, not just boys. And it's not that the brain isn't "fused"... Rather, the prefrontal cortex portion of the frontal lobe isn't fully developed until the age of 25.

That's the part of the brain the handles things like making logical decisions, anticipating future consequences of your actions, moderating urges, and delaying gratification.

This is why teenagers and young adults tend to act in illogical, impulsive, and selfish ways. Their brains physically lack the full capacity to do otherwise.

The good news is that nearly all of them will "grow out of it" as their brain finishes developing. (But some folks clearly never gain full frontal lobe function, even after the mid-20s.)

I am an old man now. My grandchildren are having children, and some of the great-grandchildren are teenagers. The love is absolute, the tolerance much less so.

At 18 years of age I was a soldier in the US Army trained as an airborne infantry pathfinder. At 19 I was promoted to sergeant and responsible for a dozen young men in a combat zone. Before my 21st birthday I was serving my second combat tour in Vietnam while my teenage bride did her best to make a home for our two children.

I was wounded in combat 5 times before I was old enough to vote or order a beer in my home state. The good old boys at the local VFW made it clear enough that Vietnam veterans were not welcome to the real grown-ups' club.

Left the Army, joined the cops for 24 years. Raised two kids on skinny paychecks, kept the house payments current as best I could do. $500 cars pushed to the limit, $20 per week for gas money and lunches, squeezing every nickel until the buffalo screamed for mercy.

Took early retirement, started a business and worked for another 20 years. Full-time babysitter for employees, no vacations, no days off, no holidays. Then I could retire with no debts and about 1.4 million in savings and retirement investments.

Now I have 9 grandchildren from 14 to 34 and 6 great-grandchildren from 3 to 12. All I hear is "gimme gimme gimme" in between excuses for not grabbing hold of life and making something happen for themselves.

That's real nice, sweetheart! Thanks for keeping us informed. I hope that works out well for you. Gramma and I love you and think about you every day! No, I don't think we can spare another ten grand right now, living on a fixed income in our old age.

I think philosopher Alice Cooper said it best half a century ago....

Mt daughter will be 23 in a few weeks and she was a moody... You know, when she was a teenager.
I got full custody of her when she was 14 and it was a struggle at times. Mom wasn't around and it was just me.
Now, it's ALOT better. She has her own place, pays her bills and seems to have settled down a bit. I see her about once a month as she's busy with work and a boyfriend. Always nice.