Home Battles of the Teenage Kind
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If you felt the earth tremble on its axis Tuesday night, don’t panic. My 13-year old daughter was having the biggest tantrum of her existence. I think perhaps her head might have done “the exorcist 360″ when she was telling me what a bad mother I was and how I live to ruin her life. The catalyst you ask? I dared to take her laptop for ONE NIGHT because she continues to burp out loud like an obnoxious frat boy.
We went through a similar, less extreme meltdown not too long ago but she worked me over so good I walked away feeling guilty and depressed with my parenting skills. After much reflection, I decided I was soaking in too much of her teenage angst and negativity. I was determined to hold firm on the next round and assume the Teflon Don persona. It ain’t stickin! The hard part: being sensitive and understanding to the world of teenage drama, while still being strong on rules and consequences. When I managed to do this on Tuesday, I discovered the process in which the whole thing came about: a trigger, a meltdown (emotional dump of every frustration under the sun), a testing of boundaries and rules, a release (the “come to Jesus” moment when the walls come crumbling down and the real tears flow) and then at last, a recognition (apology) and reconcile.
I seriously felt like I earned some sort of medal for courage under fire, but the real test is sticking to it and following through on the next one; yes – it will happen again, I have no doubt. If you are a proud parent of the teenage-kind, I hope my experience and said thoughts might provide a small bit of insight… and that oh yes, we parents can navigate the vast fickle and turbulent ocean of teenage hormones!
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